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2016 ; 20
(7
): 545-558
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On Cuteness: Unlocking the Parental Brain and Beyond
#MMPMID27211583
Kringelbach ML
; Stark EA
; Alexander C
; Bornstein MH
; Stein A
Trends Cogn Sci
2016[Jul]; 20
(7
): 545-558
PMID27211583
show ga
Cuteness in offspring is a potent protective mechanism that ensures survival for
otherwise completely dependent infants. Previous research has linked cuteness to
early ethological ideas of a 'Kindchenschema' (infant schema) where infant facial
features serve as 'innate releasing mechanisms' for instinctual caregiving
behaviours. We propose extending the concept of cuteness beyond visual features
to include positive infant sounds and smells. Evidence from behavioural and
neuroimaging studies links this extended concept of cuteness to simple
'instinctual' behaviours and to caregiving, protection, and complex emotions. We
review how cuteness supports key parental capacities by igniting fast privileged
neural activity followed by slower processing in large brain networks also
involved in play, empathy, and perhaps even higher-order moral emotions.