Effects of finding and savoring kawaii aspects of animal pictures on affective ratings, mood, and prosocial behavior

The Japanese word ‘kawaii’ describes not only an object’s cute attributes but also a positive feeling toward it. Although viewing cute objects can improve mood and encourage prosocial behavior, it remains unclear whether intentionally focusing on kawaii feelings enhances these effects. In two online experiments, participants viewed pictures of dogs and cats (N = 282) and other animals (N = 435). They were instructed to either find and savor the kawaii aspects of the animals or to find and describe their objective characteristics. The results showed that the picture ratings of valence, arousal, approach motivation, and kawaii were higher in the kawaii condition than in the objective condition. However, no significant differences were found between the conditions in terms of mood change or donation-related voluntary actions. Focusing on kawaii aspects can improve affective evaluation, but a one-time savoring session may not be sufficient to alter mood or behavior.