【TED】Why do you want to squeeze cute things?
Why do you want to squeeze cute things?--Joshua Paul Dale
VIDEO: https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_paul_dale_why_do_you_want_to_squeeze_cute_things?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
Watching a kitten fumbling around, it might feel as if you’ve never encountered anything so devastatingly adorable in your mortal life. You may want to pet its soft fur and kiss its tiny head. But you may also feel the conflicting urge to squeeze or smush the kitten, maybe even stuff it in your mouth. However, you don’t. And you might be appalled by yourself. But this urge, which psychologists call “cute aggression,” is a surprisingly common one estimated to affect about half of all adults.
fumbling
encounter
devastatingly adv. 讥讽地；破坏性地
so devastatingly adorable 太可爱了
to an extremely impressive degree.
"no artist has more devastatingly exposed the folly of his fellow men"
mortal
pet v. 抚摸
fur (某些动物的）软毛，柔毛
urge
squeeze
smush
stuff v. 塞进 stuff it in your mouth 塞进嘴里
appall vt. 使胆寒；使惊骇
psychologists
cute aggression
surprisingly
estimate
v. 估计；判断，评价
n. 估计，估价；估价单；看法，判断
To better understand this peculiar phenomenon, let's start with what cuteness is. In 1943, one scientist created a baby schema that identified key features associated with cuteness, like plump cheeks, large eyes, and short limbs. These characteristics, associated with many young animals, were placed in opposition with those perceived as less cute.
peculiar
schema
identify v. 鉴定；辨认
feature
plump cheeks 丰满的脸颊
limbs 四肢
opposition
perceive
Decades of study have since indicated that this baby schema reliably tracks with how people perceive cuteness. When study participants see images containing more features that the baby schema pinpoints as cute, they tend to look at them longer and more often. And the photos appear to stimulate brain regions associated with emotion and reward.
decade
indicate
track
participant
pinpoint
stimulate
region
emotion
reward
Cuteness is also thought to influence behavior. In a 2009 study, participants performed better at the game Operation— which demands precise, careful movements— when shown cute images beforehand. The results of another study indicated that people use recycling bins more when they have cute images on them. And the fact that cuteness hijacks our emotions is certainly not lost on authorities and advertisers.
influence
operation
demand
precise adj. 精确的，准确的；恰好的，确切的；（人）严格的，一丝不苟的
movement
beforehand
recycling bin
hijack
v. 抢劫，劫持；强行控制，操纵
n. 劫持事件（或行为）
authority
advertiser
But why does cuteness have this hold on us? It's nearly impossible to know for sure, but one theory is that cute things simply make us want to nurture them. Because human babies are relatively helpless on their own, it’s hypothesized that evolution favored infants who were perceived as cute and inspired more care and interaction.
nurture
hypothesize 假设，假定
evolution
infant
And, being acutely sensitive to cuteness, we're tuned into similar features in other species. In fact, as we domesticated animals, their appearances tended to change too. Some scientists have noted a phenomenon called “domestication syndrome,” where certain animals appear to have gradually adopted more juvenile features as they became more docile.
sensitive
domesticated
appearance
domestication syndrome 驯化综合症
juvenile
docile 驯服的，容易控制的，温顺的
One theory is that these physical changes are regulated by an embryonic structure called the neural crest. It helps determine how some of a developing embryo’s cells differentiate and where they go. Delaying or inhibiting the arrival of these cells in certain areas of the body can result in an underdevelopment of the pituitary and adrenal glands, which govern fear and aggression. It can also lead to physical characteristics like floppier ears, shorter snouts, and smaller jaws. This is one idea of how selecting for behavioral characteristics like friendliness, may also select for more juvenile, cuter physical traits. Basically, as humans bred and domesticated docile dogs, we seem to have made some breeds look more like babies.
embryonic
the neural crest 神经嵴
embryo 胚，胚胎
differentiate
delaying
inhibiting
underdevelopment
pituitary
adrenal
gland
govern
aggression
floppier
snout
jaw
trait
bred
breed
Some scientists theorize that we may have even domesticated ourselves. The thinking here is that as ancient humans formed larger, more cooperative groups, they selected for friendlier individuals. This may have then led to some of the physical characteristics that distinguish us from our closest evolutionary cousins, like smaller, rounder skulls and subtler brow ridges.
theorize
cooperative 合作的，协作的；乐于配合的
closest evolutionary cousin
rounde skull
subte 不易察觉的，微妙的；敏锐的，有洞察力的；灵活的，巧妙的；含蓄的，隐晦的
ridge 山脊，山脉；屋脊；隆起部分，脊状突起
But if cuteness is related to nurturing and decreased aggression, why would anyone ever want to squeeze or bite cute things? Well, cute aggression is importantly not linked to the actual intention to do harm. Instead, it seems to result from emotional overload. Some scientists think that cute things elicit such positive emotions from certain people that the experience becomes overwhelming. They hypothesize that slightly aggressive, discordant thoughts are the brain’s way of putting the brakes on and regulating those intense feelings— not getting you to actually eat a kitten.
elicit
overwhelming
discordant
intense
brake
Cuteness can come off as a frivolous, innocent quality, but it wields immense, consequential power. Not to be aggressive, but cuteness kind of runs the world.
frivolous 愚蠢轻浮的，不严肃的；无聊的，不重要的
innocent
wield
immense
consequential
aggressive
