Baby schema in clumsy movements: Attention bias to infant gait among preschoolers and adults

Abstract

Lorenz (1943) stated that infants possess unique features called baby schema. Most previous studies have examined the responses to infants’ faces, and very little is known about responses to the clumsy movements that are unique to infants. In this study, two experiments investigated baby schema responses to infants’ clumsy gait. Two- to five-year-olds and adults were presented with stimuli converted into Point-Light-Displays of walking videos of an infant, a preschooler, and an adult. Then, their attention bias to each stimulus was measured. The results suggested that (1) baby schema responses are seen toward motor movements and (2) the onset of baby schema responses to motor movements cannot be seen at ages 2–5 years. Infants’ clumsy movements attract the attention of people surrounding them, which may be adaptive in the sense that it averts danger to the infant and increases their chances of survival.