Researchers asked 109 people to look at pictures of animals — cute, funny and “neutral” photos of puppies, who rated how they felt about the pictures reports Popsci.com.
They were asked whether they agreed with statements such as “I just can’t handle it!” whether they made them want to squeeze something or whether they were suddenly seized with the impulse to say something like “grr!” The results? The cuter the animal, the more aggressive the response.
Researcher Rebecca Dyer, calls these responses “cute aggression.””We think it’s about high positive-affect, an approach orientation and almost a sense of lost control,” she said. It’s so adorable, it drives you crazy.She added the emotion could be pent-up aggression, because we feel an impulse to to take care of it. When we can’t, because it’s just a photo for example, we get frustrated and then aggressive.
Dyer also suggested that sometimes we portray an onslaught of positive emotion in a negative way, like when you’re so happy you cry. Giving positive emotions a negative spin can help regulate that high energy
Image via Thinkstock
