Kewpie doll effect
The kewpie doll effect is a term used in developmental psychology to help explain how a child's physical features, such as lengthened forehead and rounded features, said to be similar to a kewpie doll, motivate the infant`s caregiver to want to take care of the infant.
Ethological Research
Ethology links the study of animal behavior and biological perspectives to human behavior and social organization [1].
Konrad Lorenz
In 1943, Konrad Lorenz proposed that an infant`s plump, round facial features (i.e. cheeks, ears, and nose), and large forehead prompted caregiver`s to exhibit increased feelings of attachment to the infant because of the child`s adorable appearance [2]. Lorenz believed that the innate cuteness features of the infant was a preadapted characteristic, a characteristic that increases the individual's chance of survival, and the likelihood that their genes will be passed onto further generations [3].
Thomas Alley
Thomas Alley sought to confirm Lorenz's research in 1981. [4]. He hoped to establish a link between what Lorenz described as Kewpie Doll appearance and perceived cuteness. Alley defined cuteness as pleasant to look at. Alley established that perceived cuteness decreases as the shape of the child's head changes due to aging, meaning that a child with an elongated forehead and rounded features do increase the way an individual perceives a child's cuteness.
References
- ^ al.], David R. Shaffer ... [et (2010). Developmental psychology : childhood and adolescence (4th Canadian ed. ed.). Toronto: Nelson Education. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-17-650349-9.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ Lorenz, K.Z. (1943). "The Innate Forms of Possible Experience". Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie.
- ^ al.], David R. Shaffer ... [et (2010). Developmental psychology : childhood and adolescence (4th Canadian ed. ed.). Toronto: Nelson Education. p. 451. ISBN 978-0-17-650349-9.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ Alley, T.R.. (1981). "Head shape and the perception of cuteness". Journal of Child Language. 17 (5): 650–654.
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Further reading
- Shaffer, David R.; Kipp, Katherine (2010). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence (8th ed.). Wadsworth.
- Biological Altruism at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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