May 27, 2016.
How can we explain that certain music gives us chills? This is what a team of researchers from Eastern Washington University tried to understand.
When is goosebumps triggered?
While scientists don’t yet know why we get goosebumps listening to music, they have sought to understand what triggers this phenomenon, by studying how we emotionally respond to outside stimuli that we don’t expect.
For that, they observed the behavior of individuals in different situations : when they listen to harmonious music, when the volume suddenly changes, when the music stops to make way for a soloist … They found that the thrill could appear when listeners were positively surprised..
We remember the incredible effect that had triggered the voice of Susan Boyle, during the show Britain’s Got Talent. It is because the jury did not expect to be under the spell that the emotion was at the rendezvous.
The hypotheses of some scientists?
The explanation of such a phenomenon is not yet complete. Some scientists claim that the phenomenon of goosebumps comes from our ancestors, who were much hairier than us and who kept warm thanks to that hairiness. Exposing the skin to a change in temperature would cause goose bumps, like a reflex of our hairs to protect us from the cold.
A hypothesis that could explain the appearance of goosebumps in the event of a change in temperature, but which does not provide any explanation in terms of emotional surprise. What is certain, according to the researchers, is that people who get goosebumps when listening to music are people who are “open”, that is, ready to welcome emotional experiences and let yourself be carried away by them. In short, if we let ourselves be carried away by the music, we are more likely to have chills than if we just listen to it in the background.
Read also: What happens in our body when we listen to music?
