Konrad Lorenz:
Konrad Lorenz Born in Vienna, Austria on November 7, 1903, Konrad Lorenz at an early age displayed an intense fascination for animal behavior. Through his youth he raised fish, dogs, monkeys, insects, ducks and geese. It was upon his interactions with waterfowl that he first recognized the process of imprinting. Imprinting occurs when goslings hatch and immediately recognize the first animate object as their mother. The imprinting process allowed Konrad to observe geese and other avian species from close quarters. His intimate study of geese
communication signals and behaviors led to his development of a new theory of instinct. Instinct could be classified by one of four properties. Instincts were innate, specific to a species, action specific and involved stereotypical behavior. A highly educated man, Konrad Lorenz held doctorates in medicine, zoology and psychology. He published multiple books on animal behavior and it’s evolutionary basis. His most famous book, On Aggression (1966), argues for the adaptive value of aggression. In 1973, Konrad Lorenz was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in the field of ethology, animal behavior. References: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1973/lorenz-autobio.html http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/lorenz.htm