The mechanisms through which human adults become attracted to infants of their own species involve a response to a specific configuration of facial features (e.g. round face, large eyes, small nose and mouth), commonly found both in human and animal infants and defined by Konrad Lorenz as Kindchenschema (baby schema). It has been hypothesized that the presence of infantile characteristics in the most common pet species (dogs and cats) is involved in our motivational drive to pet-keeping and pet-caretaking. This study was aimed at assessing children’s preference for infant features present in faces of human babies and pets (dogs and cats), and its generalization to an inanimate object, a teddy bear. Children (n = 272) aged 3 to 6 years participated in the study and were tested on different tasks based on the sorting by preference approach, using paired photographic stimuli. Children preferences for infant features and for different species were obtained and the effects of gender, age, presence of animals at home analyzed. Overall, the faces containing infant features were preferred compared to those that did not contain them and results show how factors such gender and familiarity with animals are able to moderate children preferences, particularly for less popular species (i.e. cats). Further studies are needed to analyze children’s perception and attraction to animals in order to identify specific animal characteristics able to elicit affiliative responses from an early stage of development. This information appears particularly important in developing intervention programs for children with difficulty in the social/emotional domains.

Children preferences for Infant Facial Features in Pet Dogs and Cats / Borgi M.;Cirulli F.. - STAMPA. - (2012), pp. 61-61. (Intervento presentato al convegno XXV Meeting of the Italian Society of Ethology).

Children preferences for Infant Facial Features in Pet Dogs and Cats

BORGI, MARTA;
2012

Abstract

The mechanisms through which human adults become attracted to infants of their own species involve a response to a specific configuration of facial features (e.g. round face, large eyes, small nose and mouth), commonly found both in human and animal infants and defined by Konrad Lorenz as Kindchenschema (baby schema). It has been hypothesized that the presence of infantile characteristics in the most common pet species (dogs and cats) is involved in our motivational drive to pet-keeping and pet-caretaking. This study was aimed at assessing children’s preference for infant features present in faces of human babies and pets (dogs and cats), and its generalization to an inanimate object, a teddy bear. Children (n = 272) aged 3 to 6 years participated in the study and were tested on different tasks based on the sorting by preference approach, using paired photographic stimuli. Children preferences for infant features and for different species were obtained and the effects of gender, age, presence of animals at home analyzed. Overall, the faces containing infant features were preferred compared to those that did not contain them and results show how factors such gender and familiarity with animals are able to moderate children preferences, particularly for less popular species (i.e. cats). Further studies are needed to analyze children’s perception and attraction to animals in order to identify specific animal characteristics able to elicit affiliative responses from an early stage of development. This information appears particularly important in developing intervention programs for children with difficulty in the social/emotional domains.
2012
XXV Meeting of the Italian Society of Ethology, Abstract book
XXV Meeting of the Italian Society of Ethology
Borgi M.;Cirulli F.
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/796881
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