Interaction between acquired preferences and developing predispositions during imprinting

Preferences of domestic chicks were studied either at approximately 2 h or approximately 24 h after exposure to a red box or a stuffed jungle fowl. Preferences of the chicks were measured in a simultaneous choice test involving these two stimuli. When tested at about 2 h, chicks preferred the object to which they had previously been exposed. Chicks tested at about 24 h showed a significantly greater preference for the jungle folw than those tested at about 2 h, regardless of the training stimulus. Birds that had been placed in a running wheel and exposed to diffuse light also showed an increasing preference for the fowl over time when tested in the same manner. These results may be accounted for in terms of an interaction between two processes, a developing predisposition for the fowl on the one hand and a preference acquired through learning on the other.