What Cute Aggression Is

Sometimes we get an overwhelming urge to pinch or squeeze when we see something cute. Maybe you saw a puppy tilting its head or a chubby baby smiling at you, and you feel compelled to squish them out of love. If you relate to these situations and are curious about why and how it happens, 5-Minute Crafts is ready to answer all your questions below.

What cute aggression is

The urge, compulsion, and superficial aggression to squish, squeeze, pinch, eat, crush, and bite adorable things, with no intention or desire to harm them, is known as cute aggression or playful aggression.

The balancing act

The urge to squish cute creatures may seem a bit aggressive yet harmless. But when we notice the physical features of a cute animal, such as big eyes, chubby cheeks, and short arms and legs, there is a sense of helplessness and vulnerability, which invokes the caregiving instinct within us. This seems ironic and counterintuitive, but we explain the reason for this below.

Cute aggression is more like a dimorphous expression where someone experiences extreme emotions of one type, but we express the opposite emotion instead. So the aggressiveness we feel when seeing cute babies or animals is counterbalanced by the feeling of joy and affection we feel for these adorable creatures. It also incites the caretaking tendency in us.

It gives a rewarding experience to the brain.

Since humans have a natural tendency to be caregivers, cute aggression also invokes caretaking behaviors as a part of emotional counterbalance. So according to an experimental psychologist named Katherine Stavropolous, our brains feel like taking care of cute creatures is a rewarding experience. This is why it makes us care for them again and again.

The psychologist says that cute aggression could be a type of coping mechanism for people who are emotionally overwhelmed by cute things. She also stated a theory that this phenomenon also reminds you of how much stronger and bigger you are physically than the adorable, tiny being.