You are so cute I could eat you!!

You must have had moments in life when you found something extremely adorable to the point you wanted to squish it. A baby, a pet or even a cute friend might bubble up such feelings that you feel like screaming or hugging them. 

“You are so cute I want to scream” — it’s a phrase we have heard multiple times. But why would someone want to squish, bite or scream at something cute? 

This is known as cuteness aggression, that is, a phenomenon where overwhelming cuteness makes people act in “aggressive” but harmless ways.  

Researchers such as Aragón et and her colleagues were among the first to investigate cuteness aggression. They had noticed that while people experience strong positive emotions — finding babies or dogs cute — they express them using opposite negative behaviours such as wanting to squeeze or bite them. 

However it isn’t particularly aggressive, it’s our brain’s way of regulating such high emotions. 

Cuteness makes our brains release a lot of dopamine and oxytocin, filling us with joy and affection. But too much dopamine or oxytocin can be overwhelming. So to counterbalance such high positive emotions, our brain releases “aggressive” impulses like biting or screaming to balance our emotions and bring them back to normal.

Similar to this, crying happy tears is a way for our body to regulate extreme positive emotions by introducing negative impulses like crying. Another explanation for this is that our brains cannot always differentiate between happy and sad emotions. Amygdala (in charge of our emotional reactions) sends signals to hypothalamus in the brain which in turn activates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which calms us by releasing acetylcholine (neurotransmitter) which produces tears. That’s why we sometimes cry during happy moments and laugh during serious events.

Feeling cuteness aggression isn’t a sign of violent tendencies. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It shows they you care so deeply about the cute thing to the point you can’t contain it. It is playful and empathetic, not harmful and allows humans to bond and stay emotionally attached to people they are close with. 

So the next time something makes you squeal or say “You are so cute I could eat you up” you know that it is just your brain doing its thing to keep you emotionally balanced when faced with something immensely adorable. 

And honestly? That’s pretty cute too.