Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Cute and Related Concepts in Japan, the United States, and Israel

Abstract

An online survey was conducted to clarify the connotative meanings of the cute and the attitudes toward cuteness in three countries: Japan (n = 1,000), the United States (n = 718), and Israel (n = 437). The results show a remarkable resemblance in respondents’ conceptions of the cute (kawaii in Japanese and hamud in Hebrew) across countries. Except for slight cultural differences, the following common tendencies were found: (a) Cuteness is highly appreciated and believed to induce positive affective responses, (b) women tend to find things cute more frequently and strongly than men do, (c) animal babies are thought to be cuter than human babies, and (d) infants are found to be cuter when people get older, while older people generally show less positive attitudes toward cuteness. This study provides some evidence that the concept of cuteness and the feelings connected to its perception are universal.