#squish #cuddly #puppies #cute #aggression
When you have tender and helpless puppies, tender newborns or animals that awaken caring and protective instincts in front of you, do you want to “crush” them with hugs or “kill them with kisses?” » ? There is a scientific term to describe this behavioral response, cute aggressionor “tender aggression”, invented following a study published in 2018 on Frontiers of behavioral neuroscience. When faced with something we think is tender, it comes to mind. aggressive thoughtsbut given by the positive feelings that the stimulus provokes in us: “I want to crush him/squeeze him/finish him with kisses/bite his ears!” “.
Already in 2015, researchers from Yale University they had published research that associated aggressive responses (energetic hugs bordering on crushing, quick kisses, little falsely affectionate bites) and overwhelming emotions. According to the study, our reaction to certain stimuli (hair or other) is caused byintensity of positive emotions more than by the stimuli themselves.
More… why does this phenomenon occur? Can we measure it at the level of brain activity? In this regard, the answers came through the study of Frontiers of behavioral neuroscience. Research has highlighted how, when faced with certain stimuli, the brain finds itself on a “neurochemical seesaw” which, in its attempt to find balance, manifests bizarre and intense emotions towards these defenseless beings.
To understand why, researchers gathered 54 participants aged 18 to 40, gave them headsets with electrodes (EEG capsules) to test their brain activity, and showed each person 32 photographs. They were in these photos portraits of adult animals, puppies and newborns. The photos had varying levels of cuteness, according to the theory of “kinderschema,” which is the set of traits, such as big eyes, a small nose and cheeks, that human beings find “adorable.”
Baby bunnies. You don’t want to “smother them with kisses and hugs?” »
After viewing the images, participants completed a few questionnaires which indicated both how “cute” they found each block of photos and the level of aggression they experienced. To assess the latter, researchers asked participants to rate how much they agreed with statements such as “I want to squeeze something” and “I really want to pinch those little cheeks!” ”, then measured the extent to which they felt “overwhelmed with emotion”. after seeing the photos (from “not much” to “I couldn’t do it!).
Guess which photos hit the mark? You probably guessed it: they are those of baby animals. Adult animals are beautiful, of course, but as one of the researchers said, they are very different from puppies. The participants therefore felt even more overwhelmed and moved by the photos featuring them.
The researchers then looked at the data from the encephalogram and found that when “cute aggression” occurs, there is greater activity not only in emotional systems of the brain, but also in his reward systems, which regulate motivation, pleasure and desire. In practice, when the emotion and reward systems are activated, the brain “tones down” these strong emotions with a hint of aggression.
The results were then also observed investigationswhich showed how participants’ reaction was also strongly linked to a feeling of I have to take care of something nice. A positive sign, from an evolutionary point of view, as one of the researchers states:
“We know that a baby cannot survive on its own. If we are so impressed by how beautiful he is and how much we love him, then we can’t help but take care of him, because we want this baby to survive. We also feel the same way about puppies. This mediation process may be an evolutionary adaptation of our nurturing instincts, which evolved to ensure the well-being of creatures we consider cute.
Whatever the cause of cute aggressionrest assured: it’s simply the brain’s way of trying to balance an outdated neurological response, ensuring that nothing becomes too cute to handle!
