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Apparently People Who Get Goosebumps When They Listen To Music Are VERY Unique

Do you get them from certain songs?

Do you get them from certain songs?

Goosebumps are usually associated with being scared, or just really cold. But what other reasons do people get goosebumps, and what does it mean?

A lot of people might be able to relate to this one. It happens when you’re listening to a really emotional song. A song that brings back overwhelming emotions from a particular time, place or person. Or a song that’s really nostalgic; nostalgia is a frighteningly powerful emotion that we all must have felt at some point. But sometimes, people get goosebumps just from the song itself.

Why though?

A new study shows, that if this happens to you- your brain is unique. Apparently, only two thirds of people get goosebumps when listening to music. The experience is labelled as ‘frisson’ (free-sawn) a French term meaning ‘aesthetic chills’. This experience will usually take place during the very climax of a song, and the person will feel chills run down their spine or goosebumps suddenly breaking out across their arms and legs.

Science has never been entirely sure what this phenomenon is and what it means. However, recent research by Harvard researcher Matthew Sachs has made some interesting discoveries. Sachs compared the brains of 10 individuals who claimed to get goosebumps when they listened to their favourite song to 10 individuals who claimed not to. The findings demonstrated that the brain chemistry of these two groups of people was vastly different. It is thought that this could be an evolutionary adaptation- our ancestors needed to get goosebumps in order to raise the hairs on their skin and keep warmer in response to changes in temperature. It is thought that sudden changes in pitch or volume in music has this very same effect.

Source: TheConversation

The original article here has more information about why this change occurs and the science bits behind it. It interestingly concludes with a section on ‘The Role of Personality’ which emphasises how the different chemical structures we’ve evolved to have influences who we are as people. Research has further identified that people who get goosebumps when they listen to music are more imaginative, reflect more deeply on their emotions, appreciate nature, and are more intellectual. To those of you who don’t fall into this category, sorry, I guess you’re just not as well evolved as the rest of us.

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