Here's why your baby is probably a pint-sized psychopath

Guys, they're onto us.

In news that'll make you look twice at the next pram you see, a recent study by Oxford University has revealed that babies - ickle wickle babies with their ickle wickle faces - are devious masterminds. Yes, even your little bundle of joy could be deceiving you right NOW. 

The study, led by Professor Morten Kringelbach, unearthed harrowing evidence that proves mini humans know exactly how cute they are, and ramp up the cuteness levels to get what they want.

In short, that mini-me staring back at you from the high chair, blowing bubbles from its mouth and gargling like a blocked drain, is a master manipulator. 

Here's why the sneaky little critters do it:

"Infants attract us through all our senses, which helps make cuteness one of the most basic and powerful forces shaping our behaviour," writes Kringelbach. "This is the first evidence of its kind to show that cuteness helps infants to survive by eliciting care-giving, which cannot be reduced to simple, instinctual behaviours. Instead, care-giving involves a complex choreography of slow, careful, deliberate, and long-lasting prosocial behaviours, which ignite fundamental brain pleasure systems that are also engaged when eating food or listening to music, and always involve pleasant experiences."

Outsmarted by a baby. Great.