Folks who spend countless hours watching cats and dogs just derping around, gather here, for the science gods have blessed us with an interesting bit of wisdom.
It turns out that our favourite pass-time can allegedly increase productivity!
A study conducted by Hiroshima University found that looking at pictures of puppies, pandas, and grumpy cats at work doesn’t just improve people’s mood but also increases their productivity.
The research paper, titled – The Power of Kawaii: Viewing Cute Images Promotes a Careful Behavior and Narrows Attentional Focus, concluded that looking at cute images at work can boost attention to detail and overall performance.
For this, the researchers studied three different groups of students as they completed various tasks. Each group attempted its respective task twice – the first time without viewing any pictures, and then after looking at a series of pictures. The pictures were a mix of baby animals and food.
The students who were shown pictures of cute animals fared better at the game than the people who were shown pictures of food.
The researchers theorised several reasons for the improvement. One reason stated that viewing cute things improves the performance of non-motor perceptual tasks.
In 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that web browsing can actually refresh tired workers and enhance their productivity, compared to other activities such as making personal calls, texts or emails.