An excuse to look at LOLcats!

Perusing cute photos of furry cats and dogs may not be a complete waste of time, a new (and not-so-scientific) Japanese study suggests.

The study found that test subjects experienced improved concentration in a game of “Operation” after they were shown a series of cute animal photos.

The study conducted three experiments to determine the effects of viewing cute images on task performance.

University students viewed images of baby animals and adult animals before performing a task. The subjects had more success with a fine-motor dexterity task (a game similar to Operation) when viewing baby animals.

“The images of baby and adult animals were selected so that they differed in cuteness and infantility ratings but did not differ in pleasantness and excitement ratings,” the study states in the peer-reviewed journal Plos One.

Sweet!

Bring on the baby animals...