The Power of Cuteness

Have you ever found yourself wondering what makes lion cubs, puppies, human babies, and other young animals so cute? The answer lies in our psychology: the way our minds are built and how they function. Humans have a powerful nurturing instinct, or a natural tendency to care for, desire, or want to help our children. This instinct doesn't just apply to human babies, though. Infants and young children share certain universal "cuteness traits" with other young animals.

Fun Fact: Scientists believe that this nurturing instinct is hardwired into humans by the age of three!

Some of these traits are physical characteristics, such as a high forehead, chubby cheeks, a small mouth and nose, a large head relative to the rest of the body, and a round head. Others are specific actions, like acting clumsy or playful in the way that an infant would. For example, baby monkeys and chimps attract zoo visitors because they act in this playful manner. Even baby elephants, who do not have most of these cute characteristics, are popular because their gait, or the way they walk, reminds humans of a toddler walking unsteadily.

You might find yourself wondering why there's even a need for babies to be cute or for a nurturing instinct at all. This is because our nurturing instinct causes us to react to the cuteness, making us want to provide the baby with the food, water, and care that it needs to survive.

Fun Fact: Several studies show that humans prefer pictures of infants over pictures of grown-ups!

As a result, cuteness provided an evolutionary advantage to babies; this means that cuter babies were more likely to survive because they caught the attention of adults. This is an example of natural selection because babies with favorable genes were more likely to survive. As humans and other young animals grow, their youthful cuteness begins to diminish, because they become less vulnerable (meaning, it's not as easy for them to be harmed as it used to be). They begin to be able to eat by themselves, protect themselves from harm, and take care of themselves in other ways that adults used to do for them.

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Just as older humans teach the young important skills, other adult animals teach their young how to survive on their own! Let's discuss some examples of amazing mother-child relationships in nature.

The orangutan mother's relationship with her young is remarkably strong. Her children rely on her for the first two years to transport them and find food for them. She continues to teach them how to find and eat appropriate foods and how to construct their own sleeping nests. The children then become independent but continue to visit their mother until they become about 15 or 16 years old!

Another great example of mother-child relationships is the cheetah. Cheetah mothers live with their children in isolation. They move their litters of two to six cubs every four days to prevent their scent from becoming detectable by nearby predators. The cheetah cubs train as hunters for one and a half years before leaving their mothers; they then form a sibling group that lives together for another 6 months.

The nurturing instinct that resides in our own brains is fascinating, and it's just one of many features of natural selection that contribute to evolution. It explains why we are motivated to help our young survive and learn, just as other animal mothers help their young gain independence over time.

Hopefully, this inspired you to learn even more about evolution. Stay tuned for more articles in the future!