Oxytocin sensitivity influences women’s responses to infant cuteness

From the article: A new study [published](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105595) in Hormones and Behavior has shed light on how women respond to baby faces. The research suggests that infants with more pronounced “baby schema” features—such as chubby cheeks—are perceived as cuter and tend to elicit stronger caretaking instincts. However, the researchers found that the way women react to these features depends on individual differences in both their nurturing tendencies and the way their genes regulate the body’s oxytocin system.

Baby schema refers to a specific set of physical features that human infants typically display, such as a large forehead, small chin, and wide eyes. These features are believed to have evolved to trigger affectionate and protective responses in adults, ensuring that infants receive the care they need to survive and thrive.

Prior studies have shown that people tend to find baby schema features appealing, and that these features can increase motivation to care for an infant. However, scientists are still trying to understand the precise factors that influence this sensitivity to baby schema. Some people seem to be more responsive than others, and the researchers of this study wanted to know whether this variation could be explained by two factors: nurturance motivation (a person’s inherent drive to care for others) and the functioning of the oxytocin system, which plays a key role in social bonding and caregiving.