Cuteness Melts Hearts

Cuteness Melts Hearts

Ever wonder why humans think puppies are cute and how they melt even the toughest of hearts out there as they have been used in behavioral experiments with prisoners and others needed some sort of therapy? There are reasons why people act this way and show a genuine capability to express love, compassion and kindness to these little fuzzy balls of fur. 

The word “cute” is ambiguous for it can be applied to so many things in life. It can be applied to many things and is often not considered to be “nerdy” if it is used in the right context of the purpose shown or written. Another word that is associated with cute is adorable yet we don’t use adorable as much as we do cute. The truth is that the word cute is associated with the word “young or younger’ and brings back something we call pedomorphism. 

The word basically means to describe the evolutionary process of biology, anthropology etc. that seem to indicate how the human race has advanced from primitive behaviors to “tamer” behaviors. What this translates to is we see a comparison or striking resemblances when comparing humans to infants as we do with animals.

This comparison is a trigger than allows us to express to select the tameness in something or someone. Comparing a baby ape with a infant human has striking similarities and triggers the comparison of traits. This can be a logical reasons for a response such as the word cute.

In layman terms, every adult retains their juvenile traits and have the ability to compare the person animal, object, place or thing as an infant would by creating an image that is much younger than it really is and we all like younger looking things. 

However there is a secondary trigger that is what we all possess and that is the protective mechanism in us that makes us protective because younger and smaller things appear to be vulnerable precious and in need of something or someone. 

Not restricted to maternal instinct but rather a human instinct to take care of something small. It is in our genes. Hence a mutation of our genes has created the ability to compare the young with the small and created an attraction to favor the young or smaller person, animal or thing. This is part of our own evolution whether we like it or not. 

Other dynamics involved other than protective instincts are the natural bonding mechanism that exist in the process of contact or viewing things that we are attracted to both young and old. 

Like I said, it’s a little nerdy to talk like this but the fact is you think things are cute because that is how you see them or compare them to smaller and younger things you have experienced or hand contact with at one time in your life.