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
Recommended Citation
Duskin, Kaitlin Rose, "Does having siblings affect caretaking responses to infants?" (2022). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 546.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/546
IRB Approval
Included in
Biological Psychology Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Other Psychology Commons