Why do people sometimes become so overcome with positive feelings towards something cute, like a baby or puppy, that you become almost aggressive and want to “eat” them or “squeeze” them?

Question

I’ve felt this bizarre emotion myself and I’m sure most people have heard people talk about how a baby or puppy is so cute they could just squeeze it to death or eat it up or something similar. I know no one would ever actually commit that act, but there’s this bizarre subconscious desire to do it.

Is this similar to when people become so happy that they cry? The two emotions are polar opposites but when felt in extremes you somehow have both at the same time.

In: Biology

Answer 1

From what I was told, it’s because “cute” isn’t a thing people saw throughout history. It’s a completely new stimulus that the body never developed an answer for yet.

And what does the body do to things it doesn’t understand? It tries to kill them.

Answer 2

The same parts of your brain activate when you see delicious food, and a cute baby. That’s why you feel like you want to eat them up; because that’s your brains reaction to the food.

Answer 3

You’re last thought lines up with the reading I’ve done. Essentially some things are just so cute the emotion gets overwhelming and comes out sideways as aggression. If you want to read more, Google “cuteness aggression.”