Mammals need mommies. (For many mammal species, fathers also play a role in parental caregiving.) So it's no surprise that kindchenschema, or "baby schema," shows up across Mammalia. This suite of facial features, including large eyes and a small nose and mouth, elicits a caregiving response that's handy if you're an infant dependent on getting that care. But what about non-mammals? University of Michigan evolutionary psychologist Daniel Kruger decided to investigate whether kindchenschema might also be present in birds and reptiles that provide parental care.
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