Re: THE CUTENESS FACTOR

["M.Alan Kazlev" <akazlev@kheper.auz.com>]

darren.naish@port.ac.uk wrote:

> Betty C wrote...
>
> > in MAMMALS the juvenile face is preadapted for cuteness.  That is -
> > large eyes and snubby snout.  This triggeres nurtering behavior.
> > These facial proportions grow out/become the adult morph usually
> > within the first year (us humans are genetically deficient in this)
>
> With all due respect to those who keep touting the 'baby face'
> argument (viz, that cute short faces in juveniles elicit a parental
> care response), it is rubbish. Look at baby lizards and even
> some fishes, in which the babies have short skulls, big eyes and snub
> noses - all the hallmarks of the juvenile baby-face - yet do not
> necessarily enjoy post-hatching parental care.

yes - this morphotype simply pertains to the embryonic (foetal) form
(as an aside - the adult human face is remarkably similiar to the baby
chimp face - sure evidence of neotony in homind evolution!)

> I would also regard
> baby megapodes as 'cute', yet their parents have no interest in them
> whatsoever as post-hatched entities, and in fact are thoroughly
> nasty to them.
>
> Fact is, baby faces elicit a parental care response in PRIMATES,
> hence our bias that all baby-faced juveniles need looking after.

hominid primates in caring for their young associate the aforementioned
embryonic features with the infants and hence see them as "cute".  If
hominid infants instead always had long noses and small eyes everyone
would say "oooh - how cute!"

>
>
> ".. as slowly but surely, they drew their plans against us"
>
> DARREN NAISH
> darren.naish@port.ac.uk



--
Kewl!   :-)

M.Alan   Proteus   CyBeRrDeWd

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