s impossible to do anything online without running into a picture of an aww-inducing kitten,
baby otter,
or other painfully cute animal. Distracting as those pictures may seem,
there's a reason to keep looking: Scientists recently proved that all
those
painfully adorable animal photos aren't distracting you at all — they're actually aiding in your concentration.
Concentrate!
Researchers at
Hiroshima University
in Japan recently exposed a group of test subjects to images of puppies
and kittens before having them complete a number of tasks. Those who
were exposed to near lethal levels of adorableness were found to be 44%
better at playing the childrens' game
Operation
than those leading a cuteness-free lifestyle. They were also slightly
slower — a sign that researchers believe shows that the pictures
elicited a heightened level of caring and concentration. In a separate
number puzzle task, the group that looked at cute pictures scored 16%
better.
Why in the world did anyone bother conducting the study? Well,
researchers believe that the power of cute could be harnessed to "induce
careful behavioral tendencies in specific situations, such as driving
and office work." An excellent point, but we think that the scientists
just wanted to look at kittens all day.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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