Every time I go into a pet store and see all the adorable tiny kittens and puppies, I want to scream. Not because I'm angry, not because I dislike pet stores — just because they're so cute.
Sometimes, the cuteness of animals can be so overwhelming that it makes you clench your teeth and curl your hands into fists. It seems crazy, but seeing cute animals can make you feel… angry?
It's hard to describe, and if you've never experienced it, you definitely won't understand. But if you've ever seen an animal that was so adorable it sent your brain into overdrive, you're not alone.
Seeing something ridiculously cute makes a lot of people feel very aggressive. If you've seen a cute animal that made you think, "I just want to smush it!" or "It's so cute I could eat it!" or if you can relate to the little girl in Despicable Me who says, "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!" you may be experiencing cute aggression.
Thumbnail Source: Wikimedia / Pixabay
What Is "Cute Aggression?"
So what exactly does "cute aggression" mean? Well, it's relatively straightforward.
According to Broadreach, "Cute aggression refers to the almost overwhelming urge to do violence to an object that we find incredibly adorable."
Is There Science To Back This Up?
"Seeing something cute actually does bring out aggression in us," explains Popular Science in an article titled "Why Do We Want To Squeeze Cute Things?"
Rebecca Dyer and Oriana Aragon, graduate psychology students at Yale University, researched the phenomenon with a team. VICE explains:
They set up an experiment in which they handed out sheets of bubble wrap to 109 study participants and showed them either slideshows of cute, funny, or neutral-looking animals.
The general theory was that people watching any of the three slide groups would fiddle with the wrap, with only minor bubble-popping upswings for the cute slides.
But what researchers observed was that the people looking at cute animals completely freaked out, popping far more bubbles than either of the other two groups.
Why Do We Feel Cute Aggression?
There are a few possible explanations for why exactly we feel cute aggression.
One of the possibilities is related to cross wiring in our brains, while the other possibility deals with positive overstimulation of our brains.
Sure, that sounds like a bunch of technical jargon, but what it really means is that our brains try to regulate our emotions in times of high stimulation.
Reason #1: Overwhelming Need To Nurture
Broadreach explains:
Previous research suggests that cute pictures brought on only extreme positive emotions, but Dyer and Aragon’s research brings a few more hypotheses to the table.
First, it’s possible that viewing a picture of a cute puppy brings out a need to nurture.
When the brain realizes that it is denied this urge since the subject is not real, frustration, followed by aggression, comes in with the inability to physically reach through a photograph and cuddle that puppy senseless.
But what about feeling cute aggression when we’re actually in the presence of cute animals?
Reason #2: Dimorphous Expressions
That's where Rebecca and Oriana's research comes in.
Broadreach continues:
Another explanation may be that the brain simply cannot handle that much positive stimulation and turns some of it into the opposite, a negative emotion, which for most people ends up being aggression.
It’s along a similar vein to some people becoming so happy, they start crying (look to pretty much every single proposal video put on YouTube to see this happening).
Cute aggression essentially turns your brain from a raging inferno of feels to a lovely fireplace of contented emotion, purr-fect for snuggling with that tiny kitten in front of you.
Reason #3: Regulating Emotion Levels
Independent explains that "the feeling is similar to nervous laughter or tears of joy, an attempt to regulate emotion by going in the opposite direction and thus bringing ourselves back down to a normal state."
Basically, "giving positive emotions a negative spin might help us regulate that high energy," explains Popular Science.
People may feel cute aggression toward adorable babies as well — just think about all the times your grandmother pinched your cheek as a kid!
Reason #4: Dopamine Release
Anna Brooks, a Southern Cross University lecturer in cognitive neuroscience, explains that dopamine is released when we see cute things, but also when we feel aggressive.
That means that there may be some cross-wiring in our brains connecting cuteness and aggression.
VICE explains:
In layman’s terms, while we’re melting into puddles looking at small dogs on Facebook, we’re basically expending energy that our bodies could better spend on something productive.
So our brains compensate. They hand over a rush of the opposing emotion to mediate the experience and basically tell us to get on with our day.
Brooks likens the experience to that slightly mad feeling you get when you're so desperately sad that you begin to laugh hysterically.
Reason #5: Evolution And Genetics
Cute aggression is something that people everywhere experience.
"Cute aggression is a universal psychological phenomenon that all humans experience to varying degrees," VICE explains. "The Filipino language, Tagalog, probably has the most succinct word to describe the feeling: Gigil, which means gritting your teeth and trembling when a situation becomes overwhelming."
Because it's experienced around the world, it's most likely a genetic trait we've passed along and evolved with over time.
Is Cute Aggression Normal?
It's completely normal.
As Broadreach explains, "cute aggression happens to the best of us and is our brain's way of actually helping us maintain our ability to even."
Have you ever experienced cute aggression? Let us know in the comments below!
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