Babies’ cuteness is key to their survival. What happens when they’re not that cute?
Adapted from Ugly Renaissance Babies
Babies’ cuteness is a powerful force to be reckoned with. It melts adult hearts, ensuring babies a steady source of food and protection until they mature to an age when they’re slightly less vulnerable. What is it about babies that makes them so cute? It’s their eyes, which are huge relative to their faces (eyeballs don’t grow all that much after birth); their heads, which are too big for their bodies; their cheeks; and their tiny chins that get adults to fixate on them. Scientists say these traits activate an instinctual attention in adults. Brain scan studies have found evidence of an immediate reaction to babies in parents and non-parents alike in the orbitofrontal cortex, a region of the … Continue Reading (3 minute read)