Wanting to squeeze something because it's too cute: is that strange?

The researchers first asked 105 adults. On the condition that they had no intention of causing harm at all, 30% said they had pinched a cute baby or child, and 52% said they had squeezed one tightly.

English has no word for exactly this feeling, but Filipino has "gigil." It means the urge to grit your teeth and pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute. The Korean expression "깨물어 주고 싶다" ("I want to bite you") carries a similar feeling.

When people see baby-like facial features such as large, wide-set eyes, round cheeks, and a small chin, they want to approach and take care of them. The zoologist Konrad Lorenz grouped these features together and described them in 1943.

In the Yale experiment, when people were shown baby photos edited to make these features more pronounced, they reported feeling more overwhelmed with positive feelings. Their wish to take care of the baby grew, and so did their urge to pinch its cheeks.

The researchers see this as the same kind of thing as tears of joy. Just as people cry from happiness at weddings or award ceremonies, when an emotion becomes very strong, expressions that suit the opposite emotion pop out along with it.

The researchers' hypothesis is that these expressions help soften overwhelming emotions so that people can calm down again. In fact, the more strongly people showed this reaction to cute photos, the faster their overwhelming feelings tended to settle. Still, the researchers themselves said this part is early-stage evidence.

A common misconception is that this urge reveals hidden aggression. In the study, the reaction was not linked to any real wish to hurt or to seeing the other in a negative light. Instead, it grew together with the wish to take care of them.

So it's fine to look at a puppy and say "it's so cute I want to bite it." Just let the urge out only through words and facial expressions, and always touch babies and animals gently.