Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 20, 1995                   TAG: 9505220043
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MALCOLM RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Medium

EVEN MOMS MORE AFFECTIONATE TO CUTE BABIES, STUDY SAYS

In a startling demonstration of how it pays to be good-looking, a new study says cute babies get nicer treatment - gasp! - even from Mom.

Mothers of cute newborns showed more affection toward their infants than mothers of homely babies did, as measured by such things as holding the child close, patting him or her and cooing things such as ``Hi, cute baby, you're such a cute baby.''

In contrast, mothers of the unattractive babies spent more time than cute-baby moms did paying attention to other people and performing chores like checking diapers.

``We're not suggesting that parents are not completely in love with their babies even if their babies are unattractive,'' researcher Jean Ritter said. ``All these mothers treated their babies positively and generally saw their babies in a favorable light.''

The study follows others that suggest good-looking people are seen and treated by others as more popular, smarter and better at dealing with other people. The new findings, she said, demonstrate that these ``appearance cues'' are so powerful that they exist even between mother and child.

Ritter, an assistant professor of psychology at California State University in Fresno, reports the work with Judith Langlois of the University of Texas at Austin and others in the May issue of the journal Developmental Psychology.

Ritter said research shows appearance is important in all cultures and that even infants prefer to look at an attractive face instead of a homely one.