The Science of Happiness - A study of cute aggression

Julian: Happiness, is it possible to feel it so intensely it manifests itself as aggression? Does this sound crazy? Have you ever picked up a puppy and felt the inexplicable urge to squeeze it. Do you have a crazy aunt who likes to pinch your cheek. Have you ever picked up someone from the airport and almost hugged the life out of them? I know I have. Well earlier this year psychologists at Yale University coined the term for this phenomenon. It's called "cute aggression." And it's a real thing! Now you can take my word for it or you can check out this study. We thought we'd try that experiment for ourselves here in our lab. We brought in a selection of volunteers to act as our subjects, and showed them a slide show of animal photos. Before we started the show I handed each subject a sheet of bubble wrap and told them once the slideshow began they should feel free to pop as many or as few as they felt like. Here's what happened next. Participant 1: It's so cute! Participant 2: Oh my god, you guys are getting me with these dog images! Julian: Well, for our experiment we had you watch a slideshow for neutral photos you popped four bubbles. For the cute pictures you popped 45 bubbles. Participant 3: Is there something wrong with the brother. [laughs] Julian: Why do you think it evoked a physical reaction? Participant 4: I really don't remember a reason, just kind of popped randomly. Participant 5: It's just something about popping those bubbles that makes you like ugh. P2: I think it just has more of an emotional reaction. When you have a picture of cute animals especially animals interacting with each other. Participant 6: Watching the images, the ones that really stuck out or made an impact were the ones where there was some sort of connection or bond. P7: I'm a person that when I'm happier I tend to fidget more often, and so I'm more prone to popping. Julian: For the neutral group you popped 2 bubbles. We actually wrote down the two you chose to pop on, you chose the billy goat and then you popped on the ant. Do you remember what you were thinking? P8: Annoying? Julian: have you heard of the term "cute aggression?" P2: No. P9: No. P8: Maybe. P3: No. P6: I don't believe so, no. P5: As in when a kitten aggressively attacking your fingers? Julian: No. When you see something so cute you're overwhelmed by it and you feel the need to vent that feeling or you might even get frustrated, can you think of any instances where you might have actually felt cute aggression for yourself? P1: I have seven brothers and sisters and I'm the oldest. I remember pinching their cheeks a few times, maybe a little harder than was pleasant for them. P2: It happened the other day when I saw this cute dog walk by and I'm like, "Oh my god the dog is so cute I just want to hold it pet the dog and make it my new friend" but it wouldn't allow me to do that. P9: So we got this little puppy when I was like 18 and as soon as I got it I just felt the need to like take a bunch of pictures of it and put it all over Facebook for everyone to see how cute this puppy was because I just wanted to show the world how cute he was! Julian: So your response to overwhelming cuteness is to take a lot of pictures and show everyone. P9: Yes! Exactly! P3: When I first moved to California my wife was still in St. Louis for four months so when she first came here I think I hugged her tighter than I usually would. And other things. [laughs] Julian: I'm done. So, why would cute aggression exist? Cute aggression doesn't mean we literally want to hurt something that's cute. In fact, it's quite the opposite. When we see something that's cute, it's human nature to want to take care of it, but since we obviously can't reach through the screen and touch it we become internally frustrated and we vent it out as aggression. We exhibit positive emotions in negative ways all the time. Like feeling so happy you can cry, which many of you did when you watched our first video, which you can check out down below. Ultimately cute aggression is nothing to worry about but, if that aunt does tell you that you're so cute that she could eat you up, run! So, does cute aggression ever happen in your life? Why don't you share it with us by uploading a video response or telling us about it in the comments. I'm Julian, and this as been The Science of Happiness. SoulPancake Subscribe!