Medicosnext
Words by Aska Gautam
She is a veterinary student at HICAST, Kirtipur, with a passion for science trivia and unique wildlife. Inspired by veterinarian Romain Pizzi and Sir David Attenborough, Aska dreams of working in zoos and aquariums worldwide, dedicating her career to helping rare creatures thrive.
Playful Aggression informally known as cuteness aggression is a psychologically recognized experience categorized by an impulsiveness or a rise in violent tendencies when presented with stimuli that may be defined as “cute”. This phenomena can be widely observed in real life and social media. Upon spending a few hours on any social media platforms, you are bound to find someone lamenting about their desire to squeeze, crush, pinch, or even bite an object of affection. Such “objects” often entail but are not limited to cats, dogs, babies and even ones partners. Likewise, cuteness aggression falls under the category of dimorphous expression of emotions. Here dimorphous expression refers to the behavior when one feels a strong emotion but expresses the opposite of it. An example of this can be smiling when feeling sad or tears of joy.
Baby Schema effect
Broadly speaking cuteness or what is perceived as cute is a subjective matter however according to the Baby Schema effect, a term coined after a series of experiments involving people’s reactions to cute babies and animals in comparison with arguably less cute humans and animals performed in 1943 by Lorenz certain characteristics such as big round eyes, big head, small face, small ears, short limbs and a clumsy gait help distinguish between a cute object and less cuter one. From an evolutionary perspective it is believed that cuteness elicits parental instincts in humans. Human offspring are notoriously known to be helpless for a long time after birth unlike many other creatures dwelling on earth which is where cuteness comes in handy. Simply put, the more helpless looking a baby is, the better its chances of survival, as it activates a protective and nurturing instinct not only in its parents but also in other humans.
Despite being a tactical advantage when it comes to survival cuteness also elicits an aggressive reaction as mentioned above which may seem counter productive however notwithstanding what the name of the phenomena suggests cuteness aggression does not necessarily come from a place of malice. Instead, it is categorized as an outlet to deal with the overwhelming positive emotions or overload one feels when encountering an object of undeniable cuteness.When it comes down to it,in our brains the urge to do harm is mostly overridden by a want to protect.
Cuteness And The Brain
When speaking of the brain, through neuroimaging it was found that upon encountering a baby the activity in the OrbitoFrontal Cortex (part of the brain that lies in the frontal lobe and is responsible for the cognitive process of decision making) increased in 1/7th of a second. Likewise, it was also found via EEG (Electroencephalography)scans that both the reward and emotional centers of the human brain lit up when a person saw a baby. Similarly, the brain produces oxytocin, a hormone known to lower stress alongside vasopressin which controls emotions including anxiety, fear and aggression triggering a fierce want to protect.
Evolution Of Cuteness
The tactical advantage in evolutionary history due to cuteness has not only benefited babies but adult humans and many animals as well. This has led to the rise of the domestication syndrome which refers to how humans for the most part have chosen to breed and befriend friendlier looking animals for companionship in comparison to the more intimidating ones found in nature. To illustrate an example let’s look at dogs and wolves, these two canines are distinctly different animals however they share 98.8% of the same DNA.Both wolves and dogs share a common ancestor however in the genetic tree they branched off from one another due to human interference namely domestication.Now when we compare dogs and wolves we can find some significant differences like a smaller gait, larger eyes and depending on the breed larger ears but most fascinatingly of all is the ability to move the muscles above their eyes or in the case of wolves the lack thereof. This ability has a name: Puppy eyes and it is a product of evolution that has allowed dogs a permanent spot beside humans. It is innately a quirk that makes dogs arguably cute triggering a similar response in humans as babies do. Out of all of the recognized dog breeds only the husky lacks this ability to do so which has two main reasons. The first being the fact that huskies are the closest to wolves when it comes to genetics and second being that huskies weren’t necessarily bred for companionship but rather to pull sleighs in the colder regions of the world.
As for adult humans we are significantly less gruff looking than our ancestors which can be attributed to the fact that even among humans we may have chosen companions based on how friendly they looked which have led to the reduction in certain human features and a rise in others.
Social media and its impact
As mentioned before, social media has done much to bring this wonder of a human condition into the spotlight prompting more research, debate and awareness. Youtube, at one point, was almost primarily a website used to share and watch cat videos. Now all social media sites consist of a plethora of adorable content designed to trigger the viewer’s protective senses. The topic of Playful aggression itself is also widely discussed and explained throughout the many social media platforms which has led to an understanding and embracing of said evolutionary traits. The positive impact of social media distributing cute videos is boundless however the adoption and aid towards animals in need has been arguably the best outcome of all.
Conclusion
Cuteness is an evolutionary quirk developed by humans and animals alike to better the chances of their survival while cuteness aggression is an outlet from the overwhelmingly positive emotions one experiences upon encountering something cute. In conclusion, in the past being incapacitated by positive feelings towards a baby requiring care might not have been the best response in a highly competitive survival setting which is where dimorphous expression of cute aggression may have developed to regulate these overwhelmingly positive emotions.
