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MD2_v3_cuteness_and_pupil.docx (1.25 MB)
Enlargement of female pupils when perceiving something cute, except for female faces
It is reported that women’s pupils dilate when they
see a baby; it is unclear if this pupillary response is caused by the perception
of cuteness itself. Since many objects besides babies can be perceived as cute,
we investigated whether the perception of cuteness, or the type of object
observed, is related to pupil dilation. In the first experiment, female
participants were requested to rate the subjective cuteness of greyscale
pictures of objects such as animals and foods; their pupil sizes were measured.
The results showed a significant positive correlation between perceived
cuteness and participants’ pupil dilation. In the second experiment, participants
rated the cuteness of images of female faces. Results revealed a significant
negative correlation between perceived cuteness and pupil dilation. In our
study, perceiving cuteness enlarged female observers’ pupils except when
observing female faces. Positive reactions associated with cuteness may be
premised on the existence of unconscious perceptual alterations and physical
responses.
Funding
JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17K13901
History
Declaration of conflicts of interest
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Corresponding author email
k-kuraguchi@otemon.ac.jpLead author country
- Japan
Lead author job role
- Higher Education Faculty 4-yr College
Lead author institution
Otemon Gakuin UniversityHuman Participants
- Yes
Ethics statement
This study was approved by the ethics committee of Otemon Gakuin University (Approved Number 2019-15) and was conducted in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki).Comments
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