Pixabay These kittens clearly fit the cute baby blueprint experts are talking about. ![]() The effect of this may be to approach the infant or cute animal, wanting to pick it up or look after it."īut sadly, as cute as they are, none of these baby animals can stay little forever. She added, "We think this early activity biases the brain towards processing the cute stimulus – for example, by making sure we give it our full attention. "We know that there is a really fast burst of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in reward," explains Eloise Stark who studies parent and child interactions in the psychiatry department at the University of Oxford. Scientists believe that our instinct to care for babies was likely an evolutionary adaptation since "any predisposition to be especially benevolent toward critters that meet the 'baby schema' is likely to be strongly favored by natural selection."įurthermore, our desire to physically touch or hold babies, whether human or animal, is also motivated by this "cute stimulus" that triggers a biological reaction in our brain, whether we're holding a fluffy kitten or just looking at baby animal pictures. Research shows that affection toward infants begins to take shape within our psyche when we are as young as three years old, reinforced by the societal norms of human culture to look after our young. For instance, the clumsy gait of a baby elephant who has not quite mastered how to walk reminds us of the clumsiness we witness in toddlers, triggering the same affectionate response. Humans also react to infant-like behaviors displayed among baby animals. It is not just cute baby features that we find appealing. "People are also animals, and our infants and young children – like the infants and young of most species – have certain consistent traits," David Barash, a psychology professor at the University of Washington who studies human and animal behaviour, told the BBC. Lorenz named this cute baby template the "baby schema." Scientists believe that, due to these specific infant traits, the natural instinct humans possess to nurture our babies also translates into an instinctive caring response toward baby animals. These traits include a large head paired with a small-sized body, small facial features such as the mouth and nose, round cheeks, a round body, and a high forehead. ![]() In 1943, Austrian ethologist and zoologist Konrad Lorenz was the first to suggest that all infants - whether human or not - share specific features that are universally irresistible. Yet, when we see a baby lion, our first instinct might be to want to cuddle it or take care of it.īut it turns out, there is a psychological explanation behind our nurturing response toward adorable baby animals. When we see an adult lion we might feel intimidated by its majestic mane and ferocious teeth. Pixabay We have the same instinctive reaction when we see human babies and baby animals.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |