Every day, around 100,000 videos of cats and puppies are uploaded to YouTube, highlighting the powerful influence of cuteness, particularly through the concept of the baby schema.This evolutionary phenomenon evokes feelings of care and affection and promotes positive emotional responses that can even lead to increased focus, improved mood, and even a boost in productivity.
the full story

Around 100,000 videos of cats get uploaded to YouTube—each day. One scientific explanation for this phenomenon stems from a simple yet powerful concept: cuteness, or more precisely, the baby schema.
baby schema

Baby schema is a set of characteristics found in young children that evoke innocence and vulnerability, such as a round face, large eyes, a tiny nose, a small mouth, chubby cheeks, a curved body—and sometimes clumsy movements, playful behavior or even floppy ears.
When you combine these traits, most of us can’t help but feel a deep sense of care for the baby, thereby increasing their chance of survival—an involuntary reaction that, strangely, even extends to inanimate objects. So what happens to your brain when you see something adorable?
brain response to cuteness

First, your reward pathway lights up, and dopamine flows through your synapses which gives you sensations of pleasure and attachment. As a result, you become caring, affectionate, and may even crave to cuddle. This response can be so profound that it can tame your temper, enhance your concentration, increase your attention to detail, and even improve your productivity.
experiments on cuteness

In one experiment researchers observed people playing Operation, a game that tests our hand-eye coordination. Those who looked at something cute before their game performed significantly better compared to those who didn’t.
The theory: subconsciously the winners still had babies in mind and hence were more careful and focused. And another study found that when we watch cat videos we feel more energetic, positive, and less anxious or sad. But there can be even more surprising reactions.
cute aggression

When you are overwhelmed by feelings of cuteness, you may find yourself gritting your teeth, balling your fists, or having the urge to bite, pinch, or squeeze the creature that captured your heart. This quirky response became known as cute aggression. The scientific study of this and other reactions to anything adorable has a long history.
konrad lorenz

In 1949, Konrad Lorenz, an Austrian ethologist, first argued that infantile features trigger nurturing responses in adults: an evolutionary adaptation that ensured that the old cared for the young, ultimately securing the survival of the species. And later Lorenz, along with Niko Tinbergen, received a Nobel Prize for his work on the baby schema.
cuteness across culture

Our fascination with this phenomenon can be traced back to the cherubic figures in Renaissance art and the Japanese concept of kawaii, which originated from an 11th-century novel. However, its roots likely extend to the very dawn of human civilization.
Fast forward to today, and teens in Tokyo, the global epicenter of the force of cuteness, express their interpretations of what’s adorable by worshiping cartoons, cosplaying, dressing like dolls, or using a handwriting style that’s so cute, and so difficult to read, that it had to be banned in schools. Even though, according to modern science, it may very well calm them down and increase their performance.
what do you think?

What about yourself? Do you think you like being surrounded by adorable artifacts and maybe even feel more productive? Or are you immune to baby schema and find cuteness in your life rather distracting? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Sources
- Kawaii – Wikipedia
- Cuteness – Wikipedia
- Konrad Lorenz – Wikipedia
- The Economist. (2024, February 2). Small, but mighty: how cuteness has taken over the world. The Economist.
- International cat day 2022 – Youtube.com
Dig deeper!
- Watching Cat Videos
- Playing Operation
- Oxytocin’s Role in Social Behavior: Oxytocin, acting as a neuromodulator in the human central nervous system, influences various aspects of social behaviors, such as empathy and trust. It modulates attention to social cues, potentially explaining the nurturing response evoked by cuteness (Shamay-Tsoory & Abu-Akel, 2016).
- Dopamine Response to Reward: Dopamine neurons respond to rewards and reward-predicting stimuli. These neurons are activated by novel, unexpected stimuli, suggesting a connection between dopamine release and the pleasurable response to seeing something cute (Schultz, Apicella, & Ljungberg, 1993).
- Attention and Focus: The involvement of dopamine in attention-related behaviors is also highlighted. This aligns with the notion that viewing cute things can sharpen attention and focus, potentially as an evolutionary mechanism (Clark, Geffen, & Geffen, 1987).
- Influence on Aggression: Studies on oxytocin and dopamine suggest a potential role in tempering aggressive thoughts. For example, oxytocin has been shown to affect aggressive behavior in animals, which might reflect the nurturing response evoked by cute stimuli (Korzan, Summers, Ronan, Renner, & Summers, 2001).
Classroom activity
In this activity, students will learn about Babyschema and cuteness.
- Ask students why they think they find puppies and cats cute – and what set of characteristics would define something as cute. Write keywords and features on the board.
- Play Sprouts’ Video on Cuteness and Baby Schema
- Ask the class if what they thought about cuteness was confirmed in the video. Ask them to revise their answers from the first question.
- Ask students how watching cute videos make them feel, and write down keywords from their answers.
- Explain how their feelings are related to the brain’s reward system, as shown in the video.
- Ask the class if they can think of other things that make them feel the same way, or if they find cuteness distracting.
Collaborators
- Script: Jonas Koblin and Ludovico Saint Amour di Chanaz, PhD
- Cartoon artist: Pascal Gaggelli
- Producer: Selina Bador
- Voice artist: Matt Abbott
- Coloring: Nalin
- Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa
- Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda
- Publishing: Vijyada Songrienchai