Science Forums 2

[HydrogenBond]

Babies are sort of like animals in the sense they respond to feelings in the voice instead of words. A good experiment with an animal is saying something nasty but with kindness or enthusiasm in the voice. They hear "blah, blah", but will feel the positive emotional valence and respond to that. Then do the opposite and give them a kind complement, but with anger or contempt. They also hear "blah blah, and will respond to the feelings.

Body language and babies works the same way. Typically, there is an exact association between a smile and a nice feeling. But sometimes babies will see the smile but respond with crying if the feelings are not genuine. Often females are more genuine with their feelings of cuteness such that females are more likely to get the proper reaction. Some males are more awkward around babies. They may smile but the baby feels their strain.