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01
So this is what they mean by a "bird's eye view"
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Why do baby animals look so cute to us and what causes “cuteness aggression”?
“Cuteness has a really powerful influence on us, and we’re often unaware of it.” - Kamilla Knutsen Steinnes, social psychologist at Oslo Metropolitan University
Back in the 1940s, an Austrian scientist finally came up with a scientific term for that cutesy feeling we get when we see babies of all kinds. It's called “Kindchenschema," or baby schema. That's basically a fancy German way of saying that the combination of a big head, big eyes, chubby cheeks, short legs, and zero coordination make our brain go gooey over those features. This is so that we'll look after our own tiny, extremely loud and demanding offspring, or else why bother? This schema affects how we view baby animals, too, as they tick every box labeled above (I'm looking at you, baby seals).
“Some things are so cute that we just can’t stand it.” - Rebecca Dyer, Yale psychology researcher
That still doesn't explain why we all feel this undeniable urge to squish or bite them when we're overwhelmed by their cuteness. So, we fast forward to 2013, when Yale Researchers coined the term “cuteness aggression.” The theory is that when all that cuteness overwhelms your brain, it balances things out with a bit of fake aggression to help calm you down. So as hard as it may be, please resist the urge to bite the adorable hamster.
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02
Fox pups are so playful
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03
Who wouldn't want to snuggle this baby seal?
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04
The puppy phase can be tough for the whole family
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05
Let's go for a swim with mama
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06
All aboard the mom bus!
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07
Cuddle time with dad
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08
This baby is truly itty bitty!
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09
No safer place than under a parent's wing
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Let's boop mama
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11
The most wholesome nap
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12
Even bear cubs need bath time
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13
Bathing looks a little different for lion cubs
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14
Giraffes are so cute!
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15
How many babies do you see under there?
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16
Baby pangolin ride
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That's one big tongue
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Bear cub and mama
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Polar bears doing what polar bears do best
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Education starts young when you're a lion cub!
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