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Research Question: How does viewing cute images influence behavioral…
Research Question: How does viewing cute images influence behavioral carefulness?
Sherman, G. D., Haidt, J., & Coan, J. A. (2009). Viewing cute images increases behavioral carefulness. Emotion, 9(2), 282-286. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014904
Mehak Arora- 100174051
Experiment 1
Dependent Variable: Performance on the Fine-Motor dexterity Task, Grip strength, Heart rate, Skin conductance level and Self-Reported Emotional and Physical Impact.
Methods
40 undergraduate🧍♀️, Mean age: 18.46 years
Participants viewed a slide show with images of puppies and kittens or dogs and cats ). Fine-motor dexterity measured using "Operation" game. Grip strength measurement using a hand dynamometer. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) via ECG.
At last, ECG removed, participants completed questionnaire and answered 2 self report items at end.
Slideshow of 3 sections each with 9 images. Each image was shown for 10 seconds, with a 3-second black screen between images.
H0: Viewing cute images will not affect behavioral carefulness.
H1: Viewing cute images will increase behavioral carefulness.
Results
HR increased more in the high-cuteness condition (M = 1.64, SD = 0.72) compared to the low-cuteness condition (M = 0.02, SD = 0.46), t(37) = 1.89, p = .07, d = 0.61.
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Fine-Motor Task: Significantly greater improvement in the high-cuteness condition (SD = 0.41) compared to the low-cuteness condition (SD = 0.44), t(38) = 1.99, p < .05, d = 0.63.
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Grip Strength and SCL: No significant change in grip strength, (t <1). No significant change in SCL.
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Experiment: 2
Methods
56 :silhouette: (23🧍♀️, 33 🧍♂️) Mean age: 18.80 years
Similar to experiment 1, Participants viewed a slide show with new sets of puppy and kitten images (high cuteness) or dog, lion, and tiger images (low cuteness) but with a minor change: the questionnaire was completed after playing the "Operation" game post-viewing.
Dependent Variable: Performance on the Fine-Motor dexterity Task, Grip Strength, Heart rate, Skin conductance level and Self-reported Emotional and Physical Impact
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H0: Viewing cute images will not affect behavioral carefulness.
H1: Viewing cute images will increase behavioral carefulness.
Results
Fine-Motor Task Improvement: Participants in the high-cuteness condition showed significantly greater improvement (M = 1.32, SD = 0.33) compared to the low-cuteness condition (M = 0.46, SD = 0.29), t(54) = 1.97, p < .05, d = 0.48.
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Grip Strength, HR and SCL Change: No significant change in grip strength, HR, and SCL in between conditions.
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Statistics
In both experiments the significant p-value and medium effect size indicate that viewing cute images significantly enhances fine-motor task performance. The t-value supports the magnitude of this difference
Experiment 1: Operation task: d= 0.63 (Medium to large effect). Experiment 2: Operation task: d= 0.48 (Medium effect). This indicates meaningful impact of cute images on behavioral carefulness.
No statistically significant difference in genders either, p= 0.25. However, women had larger effect size d = 1.03 than men, d = 0.24 showing a trend
t-Value: Represents the magnitude of the difference in means or the amount of variability due to the dependent variable.
p-Value: Indicates the probability that the observed difference occurred by chance.
Effect Size (Cohen's d): Measures the magnitude of the difference between groups.
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Conclusion
Experiment 1
Viewing cute images significantly enhances behavioral carefulness, as evidenced by improved performance on the fine-motor task. The effect is likely due to the elicitation of tender feelings rather than general positivity or arousal. More than we may realize, people do connect with and respond to cuteness.
Experiment 2
Experiment 2 replicates the findings of Experiment 1, confirming that viewing cute images significantly enhances behavioral carefulness.
Overall, cute images may not affect every factor, but they do influence behavioral carefulness. The significant p-values for many of self-reported variables indicate that viewing cute images has a meaningful impact on participants emotional states. The sample is restricted to only undergraduate students, which could lead to potential factors with different results.
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