Big eyes and a round face trigger caretaking instincts before you even think about it

Ethologist Konrad Lorenz proposed that a cluster of infantile features — large eyes, a big head, chubby cheeks — automatically triggers nurturing behavior in adults. The 'kindchenschema' explains why we find human babies, puppies, and even cartoon characters designed with those proportions irresistibly cute.

— Konrad Lorenz, Die angeborenen Formen möglicher Erfahrung — Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 1943