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Nikolaas Tinbergen

Dutch biologist and Nobel laureate who shaped ethology.

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Nikolaas Tinbergen

via Wikipedia: Nikolaas Tinbergen · see source

The 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen, a Dutch biologist and ornithologist, together with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz.[1]

Life and work

In 1951 his book The Study of Instinct was published, summarizing his ideas on innate behavioural reactions in animals.[2] In 1973, Tinbergen, Lorenz, and von Frisch were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns.[3] At Leiden University, Tinbergen pursued biology studies, and in 1932 his doctoral thesis was published, which investigated how female European beewolves rely on visual landmarks for nest location.[4] In experiments with honey bees, Tinbergen demonstrated that while the insects were attracted to yellow and blue paper flower models, they would only land when the correct odour was also present.[5]

Tinbergen used his observational techniques to study autistic children and advocated for a "holding therapy" approach.[6]

What the cited sources add

The NobelPrize.org article "The Tinbergen brothers" notes that the Tinbergen children grew up in a warm, open and intellectual atmosphere.[7] The same source states that the family lived in a house in The Hague where parents often organized discussions with children's teachers and classmates.[7] The award ceremony speech by Cronholm states that Tinbergen tested hypotheses by means of comprehensive, careful, and often ingenious experiments.[8] The speech also notes studies concerning the importance of specific experiences during critical periods for normal development.[8]

The Nobel Prize Facts record confirms that Jan Tinbergen received the 1969 prize for developing and applying dynamic models for economic analysis.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Nikolaas Tinbergen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hinde, "Nikolaas Tinbergen. 15 April 1907 – 21 December 1988", Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 1990, p. 547–565; Tinbergen autobiography at nobelprize.org; The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1973: von Frisch, Lorenz and Tinbergen; Tinbergen Nobel Lecture; Dewsbury, "The 1973 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine: Recognition for behavioral science?", American Psychologist, 2003, p. 747–752; Raju, "The Nobel chronicles. 1973: Karl von Frisch (1886–1982); Konrad Lorenz (1903–89); and Nikolaas Tinbergen (19 en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Nikolaas Tinbergen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hinde, R. A. Ethological Models and the Concept of 'Drive . British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 6, 321–331 (1956). . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Nikolaas Tinbergen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1973" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Nikolaas Tinbergen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tinbergen, "Über die Orientierung des Bienenwolfes (Philanthus triangulum Fabr.)", Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie, 1932, p. 305–334; "The Tinbergen brothers", NobelPrize.org, 3 March 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Nikolaas Tinbergen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tinbergen, Nikolaas, "The Study of Instinct", Oxford University Press, 1951 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Nikolaas Tinbergen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Autistic Children: New Hope for a Cure", Routledge, 1986; Bishop, "Forty years on: Uta Frith's contribution to research on autism and dyslexia, 1966–2006", The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2008, p. 16–26; "Effective programs for treating autism spectrum disorder: applied behavior analysis models", Taylor & Francis, 2011, p. 53 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "The Tinbergen brothers", NobelPrize.org, 3 March 2004. facts only, no text reused. nobelprize.org
  8. Cronholm, "Award Ceremony Speech", Nobelprize.org, 1973. facts only, no text reused. nobelprize.org
  9. "Nobel Prize Facts". facts only, no text reused. nobelprize.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Nikolaas Tinbergen (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In which place was Nikolaas Tinbergen born?

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Not quite. The answer is The Hague, Netherlands.

2. In what year was Nikolaas Tinbergen born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1907.

3. In what year did Nikolaas Tinbergen die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1988.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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