The DOI matches its Crossref record; 6 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Adult preferences for infantile facial features: An ethological approach
Abstract
In 1943 Konrad Lorenz postulated that certain infantile cues served as releasers for caretaking behaviour in human adults. This study is an attempt to confirm this hypothesis and to identify relevant cues. The stimuli studied were variations in facial features, and the responses were ratings of the attractiveness of the resultant infant faces. Parametric variations of eye height, eye width, eye height and width, iris size, and vertical variations in feature position (all presented in full-face drawings) were tested for their effect on the ratings, and highly significant preferences for particular stimuli were found. In general these preferences are consistent across a wide variety of environmental factors such as social class and experience with children. These findings are consistent with an ethological interpretation of the data.
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“Baby faces showing these features are commonly described as cute or attractive (Sternglanz et al., 1977).”
From Back to basics: A re-evaluation of the relevance of imprinting in the genesis of Bowlby’s attachment theory (2022) · cites this paper as Sternglanz et al., 1977
Citations
Cites
Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970) · Child Development · doi:10.2307/1127388 · Cited by 1,764
Die angeborenen Formen möglicher Erfahrung
Lorenz, K. (2010) · Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1943.tb00655.x · Cited by 1,122
Eibl‐Eibesfeldt, I. (1970) · Max Planck Digital Library · Cited by 1,053
Pupil Size as Related to Interest Value of Visual Stimuli
Hess, E. H., & Polt, J. M. (1960) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.132.3423.349 · Cited by 899
Review of The herring gull's world.
Beach, F. A. (1955) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/h0038439 · Cited by 408
DIVISION OF PSYCHOLOGY: MOTHERS' HEARTBEAT AS AN IMPRINTING STIMULUS*
Salk, L. (1962) · Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.2164-0947.1962.tb01441.x · Cited by 105
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Bowlby, 1960, Separation anxiety, Int. J. Psychoanal, 41, 89
- Hess, 1970, Ethology and Developmental Psychology, Vol. 1
- Hückstedt, 1965, Experimentelle Untersuchungen zum ‘Kindchenschema’, Z. exper. angew. Psychol, 12, 421
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Cunningham, M. R. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.925 · Cited by 782
Baby Schema in Infant Faces Induces Cuteness Perception and Motivation for Caretaking in Adults
Glocker, M. L., Langleben, D. D., Ruparel, K., Loughead, J., Gur, R. C., & Sachser, N. (2009) · Ethology · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01603.x · Cited by 628
“…characteristics that have previously been suggested to contribute to the baby schema response (Alley 1981; Brooks & Hochberg 1960; Enlow 1982; Hildebrandt & Fitzgerald 1979; Hueckstedt 1965; Lorenz 1970; Sternglanz et al. 1977), including face width, forehead height and eye, nose and mouth size.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialCunningham, M., Barbee, A. P., & Pike, C. L. (1990) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.59.1.61 · Cited by 504
Infant preferences for attractive faces: Rudiments of a stereotype?
Langlois, J. H., Roggman, L. A., Casey, R. J., Ritter, J. M., Rieser-Danner, L. A., & Jenkins, V. (1987) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.23.3.363 · Cited by 476
Wilson, J. Q. (1993) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.2307/2938952 · Cited by 397
Metadata
- Authors
- Sternglanz, S. H., Gray, J. L., & Murakami, M.
- Affiliations
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Venue
- Animal Behaviour
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1977-02
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 108-115
- ISSN
- 0003-3472 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1978701032
- Cited by
- 180
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 5.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Animal Behaviour (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- facial attractiveness, Konrad Lorenz, ethology, eye height, eye width, social class
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cues, Facial Expression, Humans, Infant, Interpersonal Relations, Sex Factors
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