If you said yes to either question, you might be experiencing a response known as cute aggression, also known as playful aggression. Despite how the name might sound, this superficially aggressive response doesn't mean you want to hurt anyone, only that you have an urge to squish them because they're just so adorable.
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. Another example of a dimorphous expression would be when you're so happy, you can't help but cry.
Cute aggression, or playful aggression, is superficially aggressive behaviour caused by seeing something cute, such as a human baby or young animal. People experiencing cute aggression may grit their teeth, clench their fists, or feel the urge to bite, pinch, and squeeze something they consider cute.
Our results indicate that feelings of cute aggression relate to feeling overwhelmed and feelings of caretaking. In terms of neural mechanisms, cute aggression is related to both reward processing and emotional salience.
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.
“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.”
You certainly don't want to hurt the cute creatures—you just want to … squish them. As Jon Hamilton reports for NPR, a recent study may reveal what happens in the brain to fuel this paradoxical response, which scientists refer to as “cute aggression.”
In fact, cute aggression is considered a normal response and is likely connected to our innate instinct to care for our young. If you ever get that urge to smush, squeeze, or bite incredibly cute things without ever wanting to cause any physical harm, then you're not alone.
Introduction. Cute aggression is defined as the urge some people get to squeeze, crush, or bite cute things, albeit without any desire to cause harm. Aragón et al. (2015) initially operationalized the phenomenon of “cute aggression” through individual self-reports while viewing cute stimuli.
Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are intense urges like biting, picking, and pulling that can cause damage. As many as 1 in 20 people have a BFRB, but they can be dismissed as “bad habits.” While BFRBs share some symptoms with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they're not the same.
Balancing Emotions
Researchers said that the reason we have these semi-violent urges to squeeze or bite our cute animals is because our brain is trying to balance out the flood of positive emotions we are experiencing.
Cuteness in offspring is a potent protective mechanism that ensures survival for otherwise completely dependent infants.
Cute aggression is defined as the urge some people get to squeeze, crush, or bite cute things, albeit without any desire to cause harm.
Noradrenaline is created in the adrenal glands. Noradrenaline is created and released after CRH and ACTH affect the adrenal glands. Cute Aggression is the feeling one gets when they witness something cute and that sight fills them with so much happiness and excitement, that they want to hurt the cute object.
'” Our brains make us enjoy looking at cute things by rewarding us with dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel intensely happy. The physical traits of babies are also features that we find cute when they show up on other things: baby animals, cartoon characters, even cars.
The expressions and intentions that we have – biting, squeezing, pinching, appear – harming the target, pretty much, appear to be opposites of caring and nurturing. These 'opposite reactions' are called dimorphous expressions, resulting from experiences of intense positive emotions.
Dimorphous expressions are displays that unfold over the course of an emotional event, e.g., “He was smiling, and he was so happy he even cried.” The two expressions alternate or may combine at times during the emotional event.
It may sound like I have a brain aneurysm, but what is actually happening is something scientists refer to as “cute aggression” – a playful, “mock” aggression towards cute, cuddly things, an adult expression of childhood desires to squeeze a puppy or kitten tightly.
According to a research conducted psychological scientists of Yale University, the desire to pseudo-bite or squeeze anything we find excruciatingly cute is actually a neurochemical reaction. As per the researchers, it is basically our brain's way of preventing us from getting too overwhelmed and distracted.
That's why some experts think cute aggression is a kind of “emergency brake” for our emotions. Seeing something so cute sends our positive emotions skyrocketing, which, the theory goes, triggers our brains to release some more negative impulses in response – it's a sort of emotional counterweight.
Furry animals are usually mammals by definition, and we, therefore, have more compassion for them. More often than not furry animals share human traits like wide eyes, making human-like expressions that intensify our sense of compassion.
Key Takeaways. Researchers appear to have found a neural basis for "cute aggression." Cute aggression is what happens when you say something like, 'It's so cute I want to crush it!'
Immature personality disorder (IPD) was a type of personality disorder diagnosis. It is characterized by lack of emotional development, low tolerance of stress and anxiety, inability to accept personal responsibility, and reliance on age-inappropriate defense mechanisms.
Intermittent explosive disorder (IED)
A child with IED may have impulsive behavior outbursts very frequently, or two or more outbursts per week for three months. Outbursts include temper tantrums, verbal or physical fights, the harming of an animal, or the damaging of property.
The behavior associated with Rage Syndrome includes outbursts of aggression that are intense and at times unpredictable. These episodes also tend to be large dramatic responses relative to a seemingly benign situation.