•megan•

There is actually a term for this: Cuteness Aggression

Seeing something cute actually does bring out aggression in us, according to a paper presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

Researchers found 109 people to look at pictures of animals – cute, funny and “neutral” photos of fluffy, fluffy puppies. The lucky participants then rated how they felt about the pictures: whether they agreed with the statement like “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 cuter the animal, the more aggressive the response.

The study’s researchers, led by Rebecca Dyer, a graduate student in psychology at Yale University, dubs the phenomenon “cute aggression.” [x]

Sources: [1] [2] [3]

CPR.