Cuteness and Parental Care

Reported in an article by Gary Genosko on Natures and Cultures of Cuteness, Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz suggests that cute infants elicit behavior patterns in adults that include the “desire to cuddle, pat, use pet names in high-pitched voice, and generally care for, nurse, and bend down one's head towards, etc”. Attributes of cuteness consist of a head size that is large and thick in proportion to the body, protruding forehead that is large in proportion to the rest of the face, large eyes below the middle of line of the head, short, stubby limbs with pudgy feet and hands, rounded, fat body, soft, elastic body surfaces, chubby round cheeks, and clumsiness. Disney artists have embraced these attributes in producing animated films. Cute elicits a feeling of warmth, closeness, caring and apparently commercial success.