Does anybody have any insight on the psychology of "cute"?

Question

What drives a human being to deem a little baby creature that is not even of our species "cute?"

Where does it come from and what are the practical uses of this "cute."

Is it something that is instinctual? Or something that comes from greater human faculties?

Why are some human beings that have reached adulthood also considered "cute" by some?

Answer 1

Cute is the combination of attractiveness and Helplessness.

Nice cars, hot guys or girls, computers, or simple things like candy bars or beverages are attractive, but doesn't show helplessness thus cannot be labeled cute.

Flys, midgets, rodents, larvas, grass blades show helplessness but are not attractive (to most people) thus cannot be labled cute by most.

Babys, little boys or girls, pocket pcs, mini coke bottles, mini candy bars or even grown men with an ounce of unskillfulness or shyness are both attractive and show helplessness and can be labled as cute.

Cuteness varies depending on who or what is attractive and/or helpless according to each individual. For instance, a 9 year old girl cannot find a 15 year old boy who is nervous about his first date cute, but a 40 year old woman can.

Answer 2

My ex told me cute is for children and puppy dogs in response to a comment I made about his being cute all dressed up to go out to dinner one night. I believe my comment was, "awww, you look so cute!" While this could be the primary reason he is now my ex, who's to say. However, in response to your question, I tend to think it's instinctual and contributed to from greater human faculties combined, not one or the other. Humans are very decisive in their opinions...something is pretty, handsome, ugly, aweful, big, small....choose whatever adjective you like, but we are compelled to use description in just about any conversation we have. Usage indicates instinctual, selection indicates greater faculties.

In regard to why little things such as puppies, other animals babies and children are called cute...probably because the meaning of cute is not as strong as the meaning of the word beautiful, for example. While cute is pleasant, beautiful tends to be regarded as a more powerful word emphasising traits not necessarily held by something that is just merely cute.

Why are some human beings called cute even though they are adults...simple--they may be all grown up but they still exhibit child-like behaviors. For example, a grown woman who might be described very well with strong adjectives, might be called cute if she is acting silly, maybe talking baby-talk or giggling in a childish tone, doing something which a woman her age wouldn't typically be expected to do.

Answer 3

Oversized eyes. Babies have larger eyes compared to their head then adults. Look at Japanese anime and you can see many example of artwork that tries to recreate, even including what is called 'eye shine' to add multiple light sources to the surface of the eye. Look at a cat, especially a kitten and you can see that their eyes take up a majority of their face compared to alot of other animals. Cats also meow in a vocal range that emulates a baby crying, and they do this because they know it attracts attention, they very rarely meow in the wild.

I honestly can only speculate on the instinctal necessity of deriving something a cute, it probably is meant to insure that you don't hurt your own offspring and are more likely to protect it. I couldn't tell you off hand what goes on physically in the brain when someone sees something cute though.

Answer 4

Smaller, "cuter" features of babies are nonthreatening, and convey a relative helplessness and innocence. The emotions stirred up in older creatures are adaptive in that they encourage the elders to care for the younger. If this mechanism were not adapted over time, species would quickly perish, wouldn't they?

As for some adults also seeming cute, I think this is just phenotypic variation... some adult individuals tend to remain small-featured and look younger in certain ways.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Instinct.