Why We Want to Squeeze Cute Things (2024)

FAQs

Why We Want to Squeeze Cute Things? ›

In psychology, the phenomenon is called cute aggression, which may include desires to squeeze, crush, pinch, or even bite an object of our affection. But cute aggression doesn't appear to be motivated by vicious intent. Instead, scientists think it is a way we cope with intense positive emotions.

Cute aggression is the brain's way of coping with the strong response in the brain's emotion and reward systems when we see cute things. The brain uses aggression to counterbalance the overwhelming positive emotions of the two systems. This phenomenon is called a dimorphous expression of emotion.

Don't worry, what you're experiencing is perfectly normal. It's called cute aggression or playful aggression. Cute aggression is a type of 'dimorphous expression'. That's when your external actions or expressions don't match what you're feeling on the inside.

When we encounter something cute, it ignites fast brain activity in regions such as the orbitofrontal cortex, which are linked to emotion and pleasure. It also attracts our attention in a biased way: babies have privileged access to entering conscious awareness in our brains.

Aragon is a leading expert on dimorphous expressions and first identified the phenomenon of cute aggression, which causes people to grit their teeth, clench their fists or feel the urge to bite, pinch and squeeze something cute. While the actions might seem aggressive, there's no desire to cause harm.

“Cute aggression is not an illness or disorder, so there's no 'diagnosing' it. It's just a common human reaction to seeing something cute.”

Instead, scientists think it is a way we cope with intense positive emotions. “Cute aggression seems to be a mechanism to manage the overload of positive feelings we can get when we interact with something too cute for us to handle,” says Associate Professor Lisa A. Williams, a social psychologist from UNSW Science.

According to research from 2015, happy tears happen when you experience emotions so intense they become unmanageable. When these emotions begin to overwhelm you, you might cry or scream (perhaps both) in order to help get those emotions out.

Biological function

Studies have also shown that responses to cuteness—and to facial attractiveness in general—seem to be similar across and within cultures. In a study conducted by Stephan Hamann of Emory University, he found using an fMRI, that cute pictures increased brain activity in the orbital frontal cortex.

Love bites are generally considered a mark of deep love, pride, possession, and trust. This is often done with an excess of passion and excitement under a deep desire for the other partner. Giving a love bite implies a sense of possessiveness and shows that the person to whom you are giving the bite is your everything.

What is the psychology of cute things? ›

Psychologically speaking, the reason individuals are drawn to cute things is that they make them feel protective, caring, and affectionate. Our brains, experience a pleasant emotional reaction when we view something charming, such an adorable baby animal or a cartoon character with large eyes and little features.

Cuteness overload: An overload of cuteness; when something or someone is so super cute that there is no word for it. Cute attack: A sensational response incited by the witnessing of something cute, precious, fuzzy, or otherwise snuggly.

They include a large head relative to the body, chubby cheeks, a high forehead, a small nose and mouth, and rounder bodies. We simply can't help but gravitate to anything that fits this cute blueprint, described by Lorenz as the 'baby schema'. Certain behaviours also seem to have a common appeal.

It is a common type of dimorphous display, where a person experiences positive and negative expressions simultaneously in a disorganised manner. Individuals experiencing cute aggression may find themselves clenching their jaw or fists, with the urge to squish, pinch or bite an adorable baby, animal, or object.

Those physical displays of what might look like aggression actually signal intense love. And they are perfectly normal, says Oriana Aragon, Ph. D., a social psychologist and assistant professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati.

Charming personality Cute people tend to be easy going and friendly. You might spot them from across the room laughing with their friends or telling a funny joke. They draw people in, both with their looks and their behavior. Along with their charm comes an innocent-yet-wholesome personality.

According to research from 2015, happy tears happen when you experience emotions so intense they become unmanageable. When these emotions begin to overwhelm you, you might cry or scream (perhaps both) in order to help get those emotions out.

Drawing on work by Konrad Lorenz (1943), O'Neil tells us that “soft, rounded features; small, tightly clustered nose and mouth; high forehead and large cheeks; large eyes; short, stubby limbs; physical clumsiness; and inability to reach one's goals,” are all features that lead us to perceive someone or something as ...