What is the child schema?
The child scheme goes back to the Austrian behavioral scientist Konrad Lorenz. He studied the shape of young and older animals of the same species and found that animals react to very specific key stimuli such as e.g. B. react to the child pattern.
We humans also react to given patterns of nature
It is vital for a baby to have a reference person, as it is dependent on the care of adults due to its need for help in the first few years of life. Certain characteristics of the newborn trigger love and affection in adults – i.e. the important protective instinct – as well as a caring behavior towards the baby. We all feel the same way: Who doesn’t like to look into a pram and say: Oh, that’s cute.
Features of the child scheme
The infant schema is a combination of characteristics that acts as a trigger for the brood care instinct in humans. It is above all the body proportions that evoke certain instinctive behaviors. The child’s appearance includes:
- big eyes
- a head that is large in relation to the rest of the body
- a small build and short, thick limbs
- a high bulging forehead
- Chubby cheeks and slippery hands.
The schema does not only affect infants and small children, but also animals or objects that correspond to the child’s schema. Advertising has therefore made use of this scheme. Cuddly toys, cartoon and comic figures with these design features can be found in all children’s rooms around the world.
Characteristic behaviors
In addition to physical characteristics, infants acquire action skills such as social smiles in the first few months of life in order to actively build relationships with other people. This ensures the emotional connection to the parents, the so-called “attachment”.