"You want to take care of them" Why do we find baby animals so cute?
Big head, snub nose and clumsy.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
For humans, these key stimuli trigger the need to take care of them.
Image: dpa (Archivbild).
The polar bear cub Knut once caused a hype.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
The young pygmy hippopotamus Toni is another attraction.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
Even under water, Toni is simply adorable.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
Big head, snub nose and clumsy.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
For humans, these key stimuli trigger the need to take care of them.
Image: dpa (Archivbild).
The polar bear cub Knut once caused a hype.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
The young pygmy hippopotamus Toni is another attraction.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
Even under water, Toni is simply adorable.
Image: dpa (Archivbild)
Goggle eyes, snub noses and a clumsy demeanor: Behavioral biologist Norbert Sachser explains why we find baby animals so cute and what the key stimuli do to us.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The infantile pattern, which has been known since the 1940s, is not only effective in human babies, but also in animal babies.
- Characteristics such as googly eyes or clumsiness in baby animals also trigger positive feelings in humans.
- The traits trigger innate, instinctive reactions, universally: "They can trigger such a reaction anywhere in the world," says behavioral biologist Konrad Lorenz.
- The fact that the pattern also works with baby animals is shown, among other things, by the enthusiasm that baby animals trigger in zoo visitors.
"Oh, how cute", say many people at the sight of a creature with big eyes, a high forehead and a small snub nose. The infantile scheme works - not only with human children, but also with animal offspring. But why is that?
The features described are stimuli for humans that trigger a positive feeling, explains Norbert Sachser, Professor at the Institute of Neuro- and Behavioral Biology at the University of Münster: namely "that you want to take care of this little creature".
"A certain clumsiness"
The Austrian founder of behavioral research and later Nobel Prize winner Konrad Lorenz coined the infant schema back in the 1940s. In addition to the typical facial features, such as the googly eyes, chubby cheeks, small nose and high forehead, there are others, such as a large head in relation to the body and a "certain clumsiness", says Sachser. And we think that's cute.
The features trigger innate, instinctive reactions, and universally: "They can trigger such a reaction anywhere in the world." This can also be clearly demonstrated experimentally: when the typical features on images are enhanced by software, the so-called care motivation - the need to look after the corresponding creature - also intensifies in test subjects.
Hype about baby animals
The fact that the scheme also works with baby animals is shown, among other things, by the enthusiasm that baby animals arouse among zoo visitors. Whether it's Knut the polar bear, who was born at Berlin Zoological Garden in 2006 and was the big sensation at the time, or the little panda bears Leni and Lotti and the pygmy hippopotamus Toni - whenever they are seen, crowds of people form. The media report on their development.
This is also reflected in visitor numbers. Berlin Zoo recorded a significant increase between October 16 and November 16 of this year. According to a spokesperson, there were around 30 percent more visitors to the zoo compared to the same period last year. Whether this was due to the two panda cubs, which were seen for the first time, is not entirely clear, as autumn was also at its best at the beginning of the fall vacations. But it is obvious.
A packed press
When the panda girls' names were announced, so much local and international press came together that photographers stood in several rows and crowded together to get a good view of the twins.
Some politicians can only dream of so much attention. "Zoos don't create any hype when they say "we now have a very, very rare venomous snake here", says Sachser. "No matter how much advertising strategy they use."
The time dogs spend in animal shelters before they are adopted is also linked to the development of the child schema traits, says Sachser. It is also no coincidence that the environmental organization WWF has a panda in its logo, "and not an endangered viper".
The reactions to these key stimuli can already be found in four-month-old babies, says Sachser. "Of course, you can't interview them yet, but you can show them different photos, for example, and then look at them: Where do these babies look and for how long?" Pictures with infant patterns get more attention. "These are most likely instinctive reactions that we have in humans."
The advertising industry also recognized years ago that the baby schema works. It can be seen in cars, but also in robots, says Sachser. "Care robots, for example, are much more likely to be accepted if they have the child schema characteristics."
