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Encyclopedia > Cute
Puppies are usually considered very cute.
Puppies are usually considered very cute.

Cuteness is a delicate and attractive kind of beauty commonly associated with youth and innocence.Human infants and many baby animals define "cuteness" for most people, and the standard characteristics of infancy are typically used to judge the cuteness of other phenomena (for example, plush toys or adult animals). Cute animals and humans instill a desire to care. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 244 KB) A 8 weeks old Golden Retriever puppy I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 244 KB) A 8 weeks old Golden Retriever puppy I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The Dog is a canine carnivorous mammal that has been domesticated for at least 14,000 years and perhaps for as long as 150,000 years based on recent evidence. ... Physical attractiveness is a kind of the qualities of person that have the power to attract, arouse interest, or instill pleasure. ... Many people see natural beauty in the rose. ... Youth is defined by Websters New World Dictionary as, The time of life when one is young; especially: a: the period between childhood and maturity b: the early period of existence, growth, or development. ... Innocence is a term that describes the lack of guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. ... A human infant An infant or baby is a person younger than a toddler. ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Plush toys A plush toy or plushie is a soft, often furry, stuffed toy made of plush. ...


Cuteness is usually characterized by (though not limited to) some combination of infant-like physical traits, especially small body size with a disproportionately big head, large eyes, a small nose, dimples, round and softer body features. Infantile personality traits, such as playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity, innocence, affectionate behavior and a need to be nurtured are also generally considered cute. For other uses, see Dimple (disambiguation). ... to: Personality is to stop coping with lifes hard accomplishments. ...

Contents

Psychology of cuteness

Kittens are also considered to be cute.
Kittens are also considered to be cute.

Konrad Lorenz argued in 1950 that infantile features triggered nurturing responses in adults. Lorenz argued that this was an evolutionary adaptation, which helped ensure that adults cared for their children, ultimately securing the survival of the species. As evidence for this theory, Lorenz noted that humans react more positively to animals that resemble infants—with big eyes, big heads, shortened noses, etc.—than to animals that do not. Image File history File links Young_cat. ... Image File history File links Young_cat. ... Kitten at six weeks. ... Lorenz being followed by his imprinted geese Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (November 7, 1903 in Vienna – February 27, 1989 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, animal psychologist, and ornithologist. ... A young woman who is 18 years old. ...


Another way to phrase Lorenz's point is to say that humans prefer animals which exhibit pedomorphosis. Pedomorphosis is the retention of child-like characteristics—such as big heads or large eyes—into adulthood. Thus, pedomorphosis and cuteness may explain the popularity of Giant Pandas and Koalas. The widely perceived cuteness of domesticated animals, such as dogs and cats, may be due to the fact that humans selectively breed their pets for infant-like characteristics, including non-aggressive behavior and child-like appearance. In developmental biology, pedomorphosis (also spelled paedomorphosis) or juvenification is a phenotypic and/or genotypic change in which the adults of a species retain traits previously seen only in juveniles. ... Binomial name Ailuropoda melanoleuca (David, 1869) Giant Panda range Subspecies A. melanoleuca melanoleuca A. melanoleuca qinlingensis The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (black-and-white cat-foot) is a mammal classified in the bear family, Ursidae, native to central-western and southwestern China. ... Binomial name Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae. ... PET, see PET. For the comedy TV series, see Pets (tv programme). ...


Some later scientific studies have provided further evidence for Lorenz's theory. For example, it has been shown that human adults react positively to infants who are stereotypically cute. Studies have also shown that responses to cuteness—and to facial attractiveness generally—seem to be similar across and within cultures.[1] For the term used in its original printing sense, see etymology below. ...


Additionally, cuteness—or at least physical characteristics associated with infancy—seems to be recognized instinctively by many mammals as well as humans. This is probably because infant mammals share many of the same characteristics as infant humans. The many documented cases of wild animals adopting human foundlings may be explained by the human children's cuteness triggering the maternal instinct in their animal foster mothers. A feral child (feral, i. ...


The adjective cute has evolved much and is often used as slang to refer to small gift items such as jewelries, wearable accessories and stuffed toys. It could also refer to human physical beauty or sexual desirability of any kind, not only beauty. Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... For preserved dead animals, see taxidermy. ...


Cuteness in popular culture

Cuteness is a major marketing tool in many cultures. This is most famously the case in Japan, where cuteness is a national obsession known as kawaii. Of course, cuteness is also an important selling point in the West. Elmo, The Family Circus, Furby, Precious Moments, and many other cultural icons and products trade on their cuteness—not to mention the overwhelming international success of Japanese exports like Pokémon or Hello Kitty. It can be a factor in live action productions such as the successful documentary film, March of the Penguins, where the intense cuteness of the penguins was cited as a major reason for the film's outstanding appeal. Example of several Japan Post mascot characters on official postage stamps. ... Elmo Elmo is a Muppet on the childrens television show Sesame Street. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A group of different Furbys A Furby is an electronic toy made by Tiger Electronics which went through a brief period of being a must-have toy following its launch in the holiday season of 1998. ... Precious Moments is widely known as a series of collectible porcelain bisque figurines. ... The official Pokémon logo. ... Hello Kitty ) is the most well-known of many fictional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... March of the Penguins (French: La Marche de lempereur; literally: The Emperors Journey) is an Academy Award-winning documentary film by Luc Jacquet, co-produced by the National Geographic Society and Warner Independent Pictures. ... Modern genera Aptenodytes Eudyptes Eudyptula Megadyptes Pygoscelis Spheniscus For prehistoric genera, see Systematics Some penguins are curious. ...


Stephen Jay Gould remarked on this phenomenon in an article for the journal Natural History, in which he pointed out that over time Mickey Mouse had been drawn more and more to resemble an infant—with bigger head, bigger eyes, and so forth. Gould suggested that this change in Mickey's image was intended to increase his popularity by making him appear cuter. It has been suggested that Darwinian Fundamentalism be merged into this article or section. ... Mickey Mouse is an Academy Award-winning comic animal cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. ...


References

  1. ^ http://www.winchester.ac.uk/view.ashx?Item=15993

Further reading

  • Stephen Jay Gould, "A Biological Homage to Mickey Mouse", The Panda's Thumb, W.W. Norton & Company, 1980.
  • Konrad Lorenz, "Part and Parcel in Animal and Human Societies", in Studies in animal and human behavior, vol. 2. pp. 115-195. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1971 (originally pub. 1950.)
  • Natalie Angier, "The Cute Factor", The New York Times, 2006-1-3.[1]
  • Jeanne Moos, "The Science of Cuteness/Cutie Contest", CNN Headline News, 2006-12-17.[2]

See also

Look up cute in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

  Results from FactBites:
 
Cuteness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (671 words)
Cuteness is a delicate and attractive kind of beauty commonly associated with youth, innocence, and helplessness.
Cuteness is usually characterized by (but not limited to) some combination of infant-like physical traits, especially small body size with a disproportionately big head, large eyes, a small nose, dimples, and chubby limbs.
The widely perceived cuteness of domesticated animals, such as dogs and cats, may be due to the fact that humans selectively breed their pets for infant-like characteristics, including non-aggressive behavior and child-like appearance.
Cuteness in Japanese culture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (800 words)
Western observers often find this cuteness intriguing and sometimes strange because the Japanese employ it in a vast array of situations and demographics where, in Western culture, it would be considered incongruously juvenile or frivolous (for example, in government publications, public service warnings, office environments, military advertisements, and commercial airliners, among many others).
Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets, national government to ward and town offices.
Tomoyuki Sugiyama, author of "Cool Japan" believes that "cuteness" is rooted in Japan's harmony-loving culture, and Nobuyoshi Kurita, a sociology professor at Musashi University in Tokyo, has stated that "cute" is a "magic term" that encompasses everything that's acceptable and desirable in Japan.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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