Science Says Cuteness is Good For You

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Science Says Cuteness is Good For You


Science Newsflash: A new study has determined that people who are exposed to high dosages of cuteness actually perform better at certain dexterity-related tasks associated with caregiving.

Science. It cures diseases, it opens the dark void of space to exploration and sometimes it examines the role of "infantile physical morphology" in enhancing "behavioral carefulness" as it applies to caring for small children. In the latter case, researchers Gary D. Sherman, Jonathan Haidt and James A. Coan of the Operation [http://www.virginia.edu/]. Other tests, including a questionnaire and a measure of grip strength, were also taken.

The results? Exposure to high levels of cuteness had not only an emotional but also a physical impact on the test subjects, who showed "significantly greater improvement in performance (from before to after the slide show) on the operation task in the high-cuteness condition than in the low-cuteness condition."

Remember, kids, this is science, so pay attention.

In order to rule out "extraneous influences," a second experiment was performed in which 56 students (23 women and 33 men) were exposed to a new set of images, also ranked as low or high cuteness, and then played the game. The results verified the findings of the first test: Cuteness not only makes you feel better, it makes you do better.

"In two experiments, we found that exposure to images of young, cute animals (kittens and puppies) increased performance on a task that demanded extreme carefulness in order to successfully execute finely tuned motor movements (the children's game Operation), an effect that cannot be attributed to general positivity (eg., mood or specific positive emotion) or arousal (measure via self-report and autonomic physiology)," the researchers reported (available here [http://people.virginia.edu/~gds6d/Sherman%20Haidt%20Coan%20--%20Cuteness%20and%20Carefulness%20(2009).pdf], PDF format). "This finding suggests that cuteness does not just influence one's willingness to engage in caregiving behaviors but also influences the ability of one to do so. That is, cuteness not only compels us to care for cute things but also prepares us to do so via its effects on behavioral carefulness."

Let's consider this from the gamer's perspective, shall we? Upside: Shooter fans looking for an edge in online combat can spend a few minutes at Cute Overload [http://cuteoverload.com/] for a quick, scientifically-verified dexterity bonus that will help them get the drop on the enemy. Downside: The humiliating death that follows when, after getting the drop on the aforementioned enemy, it's discovered that the killer instinct has been unexpectedly replaced with an overwhelming desire to nurture and cuddle.

But don't feel too badly about it. It's science.

Source: Skepchik [http://skepchick.org/blog/?p=7277]


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Tech Team FTW!

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Apr 1, 2009
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96 test subjects is by no means conclusive, especially considering the fact that 2/3 of them were female.
 

Ophiuchus

8 miles high and falling fast
Mar 31, 2008
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Nice to know that all the time I spend on Kittenwar [http://www.kittenwar.com] isn't going to waste...
 

Legion

Were it so easy
Oct 2, 2008
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Is it not possible that the reason the "cute" animals received a more caring response is because they are young and it's in nature to look after the young, as opposed to doing so because of the appearance?
 

The Shade

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Mar 20, 2008
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So a kitten gives you +1 Dexterity?

*packs a spare kitten into adventuring kit*

It also gives you +1 Charisma just carrying it around!
 

Avida

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Oct 17, 2008
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Machines Are Us said:
Is it not possible that the reason the "cute" animals received a more caring response is because they are young and it's in nature to look after the young, as opposed to doing so because of the appearance?
Im pretty much sure it was the point of the 2nd test to rule that out, though it seems to show that we developed our love of cute things to help us care for the young and delicate, which is very nice to know. Finally a recent Psych study with results i'm actually glad to hear about!
 

HentMas

The Loneliest Jedi
Apr 17, 2009
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sooo... loking at pictures of kittens will make me more acurate at Halo!?!?

....

does anyone sense this is a paradox?
 

rasmusernst

Flaming Voodoo Cannonball!
May 13, 2009
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Strange.

My urge to kill increases quite prominently, when women at the office flood my inbox with giant 50-slide powerpoints of kittens and baby seals.
 

Lvl 64 Klutz

Crowsplosion!
Apr 8, 2008
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As awesome as this is, the fact that a bunch of students played Operation better the second time than the first doesn't prove much to me.

EDIT: Actually, taking into account the other, semi-control, group, this seems like a pretty legit study. Awesome sauce.
 

GoldenRaz

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Mar 21, 2009
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*Hrm, hrm*
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...!
*Hrm, hrm*

The delicious irony of the fact that cuteness makes you a better killing machine, so sweet that it almost puts me in a sugar-enduced coma...
 

Higurashi

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Jan 23, 2008
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Well! This is old news! But good to have it, if only somewhat, <url=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yt0gA6LoTg0/SMY5PTjGTqI/AAAAAAAAAc8/2e1n5rgHjVM/s200/kitten_science.jpg>scientifically ratified. =)
This is just one reason I strive to spread the cuteness, folks.