Many of us have felt urges to squish something utterly cute, like many animals in these photos. Filipinos have a term for it called gigil, which is essentially an overwhelming, uncontrollable physical reaction like cute aggression.
And no, it doesn’t make you an unhinged psychopath for feeling such emotions. According to experts like University of Cincinnati professor and researcher Dr. Oriana Aragón, it is completely normal behavior.
As Dr. Aragón explained in a 2023 interview, cute aggression is simply a byproduct of a mismatch of emotions, otherwise known as dimorphous expressions.
She further noted that cute aggression can act as a release for these emotions and as a reminder to treat seemingly fragile beings like babies and, in this case, animals, with care.
“If you were to see people crying tears of joy, when removed from context, people think that the person is sad. In context, for instance, when receiving an award or seeing a loved one for the first time in a long time, those tears are easily interpreted as representing a positive emotion.”
A pair of academics actually conducted a study on cute aggression. Psychologist Katherine Stavropoulos, who co-authored the research, says the entire brain is involved when these emotions arise.
"It's not just reward, and it's not just emotion,” she said. "Both systems in the brain are involved in this experience of cute aggression."
Stavropoulos also concluded that having the desire to squish a kitten’s adorable face is a perfectly normal and involuntary response to being overwhelmed by positive emotions.
“(People often think) ‘This is weird; I'm probably the only one who feels this way. I don't want to hurt it. I just want to eat it,’” she said. “When (they) feel this way, it's with no desire to cause harm.”
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