That's the reason you want to pinch baby's cheeks

Can not resist Pinch your cheeks when you see a baby? You are not alone; maybe most of us have already done this gesture, especially with the kids in our family. It's a good thing that they do not remember these things when they grow up, but they take revenge.

But, what is the reason we have this reaction to a baby or even a pet? Clinical psychologist Katherine Stavropoulos of Riverside University, California (USA) asked the same question and decided to badyze 54 people between the ages of 18 and 40 who were provided with a cap with electrodes. they watched pictures of animals and children.

In wearing the caps, participants observed four blocks of 32 photographs divided into categories: tender babies (digitally enhanced to make them more childish); less tender babies (unedited); tender animals (puppies); and less tender animals (adults).

The specialist and her badistant concluded that when the participants observed creatures that seemed to them tender, their brains were overwhelmed with happiness and he responded with the opposite emotion: the aggression.
This violent reaction is not intended to harm the baby who seems tender, but calm the mind to regain the emotional balance. This action is called "aggressive love".

In general, participants reported that they felt more "aggressive love" towards puppies than towards adult dogs. Between the two categories of babies, specialists did not observe the same pattern. The results of the study were published in the journal Borders in behavioral neuroscience.

Based on the neuronal activity observed in participants who had an aggressive condition, the results of Stavropoulos provide direct evidence that the reward system of the brain and the emotional system are involved in the phenomenon.

"Our study seems to highlight the idea that aggressive love is the way the brain" makes us come back "mediando our feelings of oppression"Stavropoulos said.

The specialist said that this process could be linked to evolutionary adaptation: to ensure that people can take care of creatures they consider particularly tender without the brain being an obstacle. "For example, if you are handicapped by the beauty of a baby, so much so that you can not handle it, this baby will starve," Stavropoulos said. "An aggressive condition can serve as a mechanism to calm down it allows us to function and really take care of something, "he said.