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Body proportions as information for age and cuteness: Animals in illustrated children’s books

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Abstract

Growth systematically changes the body proportions of both humans and animals so that the ratio of head height to body height decreases with age. Prior studies have demonstrated that body proportions provide effective information for age perception. To test the proposal that illustrators incorporate this information into their drawings, measurements were made of the head and body heights of 100 pairs of animals appearing in children’s picture books. In 93 pairs, the animal intended to be perceived as older had a smaller head-to-body ratio than did the younger animal. Ratings collected for 25 of these pairs showed that both perceived age and cuteness are significantly correlated with body proportions. The magnitudes of the correlations were only modest, suggesting that other aspects of the drawings influenced perceived age and cuteness. In addition, observers reported that body proportions are only one of a variety of factors influencing age and cuteness perception. As has been found in other studies, perceived age and cuteness were negatively correlated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 South University Avenue, 72204, Little Rock, AR, USA

    John B. Pittenger

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  1. John B. Pittenger
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Additional information

Theresa Messina, and Liz Langston for collecting the ratings, and Belinda Blevins-Knabe and Tom Alley for comments on an earlier draft of this paper

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Pittenger, J.B. Body proportions as information for age and cuteness: Animals in illustrated children’s books. Perception & Psychophysics 48, 124–130 (1990). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207078

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207078

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