Graduation Date

Spring 2022

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Academic Research

Committee Chair Name

Amanda Hahn

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Amber Gaffney

Second Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Third Committee Member Name

Brandilynn Villarreal

Third Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Baby schema effect, Face perception, Reward, Cuteness, Alloparenting

Subject Categories

Psychology

Abstract

Infant facial cues affect a variety of caretaking-related responses in adults. These effects have primarily been explored as they relate to parental care, however infants receive care from others who are not their parents and it would be important for any caregiver, regardless of parental status, to respond to infant cues effectively. Because siblings often fulfill a caregiver role in the home, this study investigated whether having siblings, younger siblings in particular, influences the way in which adults respond to infant cues. Contrary to my predictions, the findings in this study indicate that having siblings does not influence how rewarding infant cuteness is nor how sensitive participants are to infant cuteness. Additional analyses exploring the potential impact of experience with younger siblings also failed to show that responses to infant cues were sensitive to this type of alloparental care. Future research should consider investigating if the age difference between siblings affects responses to infant cues.

Citation Style

APA

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IRB Approval

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