What is Felicia Syndrome and why do we feel like squeezing cute?

Do you remember Felicia, the little red-haired girl who loved squeezing the cute animals in the cartoon franchise? Tiny Toon? She hugged them tight, leaving them squished! The more the animals tried to escape, the more the girl insisted on showing all her love. Such behavior, however, does not exist only in children’s animations.

Some studies have already explained where the desire to “crush” and bite everything that is considered cute comes from. And we, from awesome.club, let’s talk about Felicia Syndrome, a condition that got its name thanks to the TV character. Have you ever been through this?

Have you ever seen a puppy and felt like squeezing it in front of so much cuteness? Or barely resisted a baby’s cheeks making fun and felt the urge to pinch them? So you probably had an episode of the call cute aggression (or “cute aggression”, in free translation).

The term is used to explain what happens when a person demonstrates behaviors normally considered aggressive, such as holding tight, kneading, and biting, but without intending to harm. More or less like Agnes, from the movie My favorite evilwho can’t contain his “anger” the moment he gets an adorable, fuzzy plush unicorn.

A survey conducted by Yale University brought together three groups of people: the first group watched a series of images of cute animals, the second group was presented with pictures of funny animals, and the third, finally, observed neutral pictures. All were given a piece of bubble wrap to squeeze out during the analysis.

After the end of the experiment, participants who saw the sequence of cute figures were found to burst more bubbles. “Some things are so adorable that we just can’t stand it,” concluded Rebecca Dyer, one of the investigators on the lawsuit.

Another study brought new information on the topic. Developed at the University of California by psychologist and neuroscientist Katherine Stavropoulos, her research revealed that this phenomenon appears to be directly linked to the brain’s reward system, which is triggered when we experience a pleasurable, positive feeling.

In moments when this is enhanced and we feel great satisfaction, as happens when we see something very cute, apparently our brain tries to balance the explosion of emotions, bringing an opposite reaction. That’s where the “cute aggression” comes in. In other words, “it’s so cute it makes you want to squish”! A similar situation also occurs, for example, when a person is overflowing with happiness and bursts into tears, a characteristic usually associated with sadness.

A Reddit user shared what it feels like to be affected by Felicia Syndrome:

Quite different, isn’t it? Have you ever heard of this syndrome? Send us, in the comments, a photo of something very cute that is part of your life and you feel like squeezing it! 🧸