Are You My Mother?

There are many pictures that show a baby animal, like a kitten, following a larger, different animal, like a dog, around. It almost appears as if the smaller animal thinks of the bigger one as a parent. In some cases this may be true. This idea is referred to as imprinting. It was developed by Konrad Lorenz who accidently came across some goslings as they were hatching. Lorenz was the first large creature the goslings saw, so he was thought of as their mother, in the goslings' eyes. Lorenz stayed with the goslings as they grew older, and the group developed a bond with each other. The attached video shows actual footage of him imprinting the goslings. This finding was very important for psychology because it showed how important the critical period is for newborns. The critical period is the specific window of time during which an event must occur. This period differs for all animals.
In Lorenz's situation he was dealing with geese, not actual humans. Imprinting does not apply to humans as it does to animals. We develop softer bonds with those who tend to us after birth. Usually these people that tend to us happen to be our parents so that is why we have the bond with them. I have lived with both of my parents my whole life, so I know that I have a strong bond with them through that. This makes me wonder, however, if children who are given up for adoption after birth have any type of bond with their birth mother. Adopted children still have a critical period just like any other child, so I would think they would form some bond with their birth mother, but I would like to know how strong it could be potentially.