Why do you want to squeeze cute things part 2

Decades of study have since indicated that this baby schema reliably tracks with how people 

When study participants see images containing more features that the baby schema pinpoints as cute, they tend to look at them longer and more often.

And the photos appear to stimulate brain regions associated with emotion and reward.

Cuteness is also thought to influence behavior. In a 2009 study, participants performed better at the game Operation— which demands precise, careful movements— when shown cute images beforehand.

 The results of another study indicated that people use recycling bins more when they have cute images on them.

And the fact that cuteness hijacks our emotions is certainly not lost on authorities and advertisers.

But why does cuteness have this hold on us? It's nearly impossible to know for sure, but one theory is that cute things simply make us want to nurture them.