Cuteness is Good Medicine!
Cuteness may be hard to describe, but you know it when you see it.
©Kathy Karn
Did you know we are hardwired to love babies and baby animals? According to Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz, a baby animal’s cuteness is an evolutionary response that helps a species survive. Cuteness is irresistible. Those big eyes, round bodies, short extremities and wobbly movements trigger innate caregiving, nurturing and protective behaviour.
©Kathy Karn
It goes farther than stimulating parental care responses.
©Kathy Karn
Baby cuteness evokes a wide range of positive emotions linked to emotion, reward, motivation and pleasure. Kamilla Knutse Steinnes, a PhD candidate in behavioral analysis at Oslo Metropolitan University, goes further to explain that our response to cuteness encourages prosocial behavior, social engagement, and humanization.
©Kathy Karn
Tipping my hat to science, here’s a dose of cuteness for you this week. If they trigger your “awe, adorable” vibe in your heart share the love!
©Kathy Karn
