Really Cute Babies Biography
Source:- Google.com.pkBabies hold an almost universal appeal, even for the grouchiest of people. There's just something about their big shining eyes and button noses that draws people in and stirs their most tender feelings.
In short, babies are cute.
This cuteness is so obvious that people take it for granted. But what exactly is it about a baby that prompts those "oohs" and "ahs"?
Image: Resistance is futile. Photo by Lori Pacchioli
"We are inherently attracted to a specific set of characteristics, including large, symmetrical heads, large eyes, small mouths and small noses," according to Jeffrey Kurland, associate professor of biological anthropology and human development. But why do almost all humans find this particular set of features so appealing?
Kurland said the answer lies in evolution. According to Darwin, individuals of a given species will exhibit a new trait if that trait provides a survival advantage, boosting an organism's chances of living to see sexual maturity and successfully reproduce. But what does evolutionary fitness have to do with being cute?
One of two basic processes may be at work, Kurland suggested. In the first, a distant female ancestor was born with a slightly different makeup than her forebears, perhaps the result of some random genetic mutation. This change in her genes caused her to prefer babies with the features we see as cute. She passed on this preference to future generations, and thereafter infants with "cuteness" attracted more attention and received more care than their less-cute compatriots. The cuties therefore were more likely to survive and reproduce, and their offspring inherited both their "cuteness" trait and their preference for cuteness. "Because the two traits became linked in this way, they both increased in the population," said Kurland.
The second evolutionary possibility is much like the first, except that here cuteness runs more than skin deep. In this scenario, too, Kurland explained, a fore-mother was born with an arbitrary preference for "cute" babies -- to her they just look better. And again, she gives more attention and care to her "cute" babies, who survive in greater numbers to pass on both their own cuteness genes and the genes for her preference, and this genetic combination gradually increases in the population.
In this case, however, the babies do not merely look better -- they are better, from an evolutionary standpoint. According to Kurland, infants who displayed cute features actually may have been healthier, and as adults more sexually attractive. They would have been more likely to survive and reproduce. Cuteness, in this case, is an indicator of good genes.
Again, the mother's preference trait and the infant's cuteness trait reinforce each other. Over many generations, mothers keep selecting cuter, and in turn strengthening their preferences.
In both cases, Kurland stressed, cuteness and the preference for cuteness are passed on not just through female offspring, but through males as well. Fathers, uncles and big brothers -- as well as aunts and grandmas and family friends -- will prefer infants who are as cute as they themselves were. "The two traits spread through the entire population."
At some point in the distant past, it would seem, babies were not all cute. Their particular physical characteristics attracted no special attention. But once the "cuteness" preference took hold in the genes, babies had no choice but to become cuter over the generations. In effect, they had to wage a kind of cuteness war to get attention -- and to this day people seemingly are helpless against the onslaught.
Source: By Tom Fitzgerald, Research/Penn State
Explore further: Researchers use isotopic analysis to explore ancient Peruvian life
view popular
2.8 /5 (32 votes)
Tweet
add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf
Featured
Popular
Most shared
Dark Energy Camera unveils small objects in solar system Feb 10, 2015 8
Protein linked to longevity and enhanced cognition protects against Alzheimer's symptoms Feb 10, 2015 0
Scientists get first glimpse of a chemical bond being born Feb 12, 2015 4
Exotic states materialize with supercomputers Feb 12, 2015 0
Small-scale challenges to the cold dark matter model Feb 11, 2015 28
Phys.org on facebook
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
TopSend Feedback
Related Stories
Google offers mail payment service in the UK 3 hours ago
(Phys.org) —You already are accustomed to attaching lots of items in your emails. Pictures. Portfolios. Contracts. Resumes. White papers. For those in the UK there's something else as well. You can not ...
Corning plans to light Phire on display covers 5 hours ago
(Phys.org) —Scratches on the smartphone display cover and phone drops on the pavement are two dreaded events that put a damper on any pleasure that comes from owning a sleek, feature-rich phone. The word ...
Anthem: Hackers tried to breach system as early as Dec. 10 8 hours ago
(AP)—The hackers who stole millions of health insurance records from Anthem Inc. commandeered the credentials of five different employees while seeking to penetrate the company's computer network—and ...
Mosquitoes ramp up immune defenses after sucking blood, vet researcher finds 8 hours ago
If you were about to enter a crowded subway during flu season, packed with people sneezing and coughing, wouldn't it be helpful if your immune system recognized the potentially risky situation and bolstered ...
Cyber-attacks rising in Utah, likely due to NSA facility (Update) 18 hours ago
(AP)—Utah state officials have seen what they describe as a sharp uptick in attempts to hack into state computers in the last two years, and they think it related to the NSA data center south of Salt Lake City.
Researchers find bubonic plague fragments on NY subway 18 hours ago
It is universally acknowledged that the New York subway is grubby. What may come as a shock is that it contains DNA fragments linked to anthrax and bubonic plague.
Recommended for you
Use of 'digital badges' in schools would motivate students, research shows 6 hours ago
The blend of digital technology and traditional merit badges, such as those earned by Boy and Girl Scouts, would provide an opportunity to both motivate and measure learning, according to new research by ...
Larger area analysis needed to understand patterns in ancient prehistory 7 hours ago
Archaeologists need to study larger areas of land and link those studies to measurable environmental, societal and demographic changes to understand variations in prehistoric societies, according to Penn State anthropologists. ...
Researchers use isotopic analysis to explore ancient Peruvian life 10 hours ago
Mummies excavated nearly a century ago are yielding new information about past lifeways through work conducted in Arizona State University's Archaeological Chemistry Laboratory.
Friday the 13th and other bad-luck beliefs actually do us some good 15 hours ago
In Western cultures, Friday was traditionally considered a day of bad luck, dating as far back as the 14th century, if not earlier – likely due to religious associations with the crucifixion.
Mining big data for Cupid's arrows 15 hours ago
About a third of all people who were single at some point in the last 10 years have used dating websites, and a quarter of those have married or entered long-term relationships.
Creating love in the lab: The 36 questions that spark intimacy 16 hours ago
Around the time of the Summer of Love in 1967, Arthur Aron, then a UC Berkeley graduate student in psychology, kissed fellow student Elaine Spaulding in front of Dwinelle Hall. What they felt at that moment ...
User comments : 0
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
Really Cute Babies Cute Babies Pictures With Love Quotes Wallpapers With Pink Dress Wallpapers Images With Purple Dress And Puppies
No comments:
Post a Comment