成年人对于婴儿，不管是出现在照片上还是自己家或者别人家的，都会有积极的回应，和TA说话时声音会变奶，心理年龄也瞬间降低，如果这个小孩长得再可爱一点，那他们仿佛心都化了，舍不得离开，这种现象就叫做cute response（可爱回应）。

Cute response is that humans are hardwired to prefer babies whether they are in the photo or in real life.

“可爱回应”指的是成年人无论看到婴儿照片还是真实的婴儿都能积极回应的现象。

Cuteness isn’t something that only adults can identify, children as young as three can also recognize adorable features. Even before they start school, children rate puppies, kittens and babies as 'cuter' than their adult counterparts, according to a recent study. And apparently, in young children, the faces of dogs are thought of more fondly than that of humans and cats.

对可爱的识别和回应不仅是成年人能做到的事，三岁大的儿童同样能识别出那些可爱的特征。最近一项研究显示，学前的儿童会觉得小狗小猫和婴儿比他们的成年人父母更可爱。而显然，孩子们对狗的可爱程度评分高过了猫和人类。

It found that cuteness is wrapped up in what psychologists call ‘cute response’ - a set of infantile features such as a round face, high forehead, big eyes and a small nose and mouth. Cute response has been shown to stimulate protective, care-giving behavior and reduced aggression in adults.

人们印象中的可爱的种种特征会激发所谓的“可爱回应”，比如脸圆圆、高额头、大眼睛、小鼻子和小嘴。而据说这种反应能促进成年人看护婴儿，减少侵犯行为。

（中国日报网英语点津 实习生马歅卓 编辑：陈丹妮）