Abstract
The classical explanation is that cuteness is based on feelings instinctively induced by baby schema. Contrarily to this, the Japanese concept of kawaii has a broader range of meanings in addition to cuteness and is best conceptualized as an emotion reflecting a person’s perception of his or her relationship with an object. This article provides a brief description of recent trends in psychological research on kawaii and cuteness.
This article is a revised translation from the article written in Japanese published in M. Ohkura (Ed.)., Kawaii Kohgaku ( Kawaii Engineering ) published in 2017 from Asakura Shoten (Tokyo, Japan).
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Nittono, H. (2019). Meaning of “Kawaii” from a Psychological Perspective. In: Ohkura, M. (eds) Kawaii Engineering. Springer Series on Cultural Computing. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7964-2_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7964-2_7
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