imprinting on
Instinctive early bonding
Imprinting on someone or something is forming a deep, instinctive attachment—the way a newborn animal bonds to the first creature it sees.
The phrase extends to any powerful, formative connection: She imprinted on that album as a teenager and still knows every lyric.
In pop culture, especially vampire and werewolf fiction, imprinting describes an instant, unbreakable romantic bond.
- role modelingDemonstrating behavior worth emulating
- critical periodOptimal developmental timeframe
- formative yearsChildhood and adolescence
- attachmentConnection or fondness
- bondingForming close connections
mother figure · brand loyalty · learned behavior · behavioral pattern · instinct · goslings · baby ducks · genetic predisposition · developmental psychology · nature versus nurture · habituation · association · mentorship · identity formation · subconscious influence · neural pathways · evolutionary adaptation · tradition
imprinting onrejecting
Refusing to accept
abandoning · shying away from · avoiding · fearing · ignoring
imprinting onunlearning
Abandoning acquired beliefs
forgetting · erasing · extinguishing · overwriting · deprogramming
imprinting onunlearning
Abandoning acquired beliefs
forgetting · flexible learning · studying · trial-and-error learning · conditioning
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