Do You Get Chills From Music? Learn About The Psychology Of Frisson

Do you ever experience a chilly feeling while listening to music? Indeed, music has a strong power to ignite moments or emotions such as chills, thrills, or frissons. Be it any genre or song, sometimes, we get a tingling sensation down the spine while listening to a piece of music, this sensation is called frisson or aesthetic chills.

What makes us experience that tingling sensation? Well, the tingling sensation can be caused by your favorite song, line, or a past memory you think of while listening to a song.

For example, whenever I listen to my favorite song, it resonates with me so much that it ignites a bodily reaction, shivering or chilly feelings that can be seen on my arms.

A feeling or a tingling sensation caused by listening to a piece of music is called frisson or aesthetic chills. Psychologists or researchers believe that when our mind and body feel harmony, they develop body-mind dualism.

This means that we start engaging physically with emotional states by motivating our bodies. In this blog, we will take a deep review of frisson or aesthetic chills.

What is the Psychology of Frisson?

A quick word to describe the feeling of frisson can be “the moment.” When a piece of song pierces your soul and body, frisson develops in your body through tingling sensations.

Do you know that a 715-song playlist curated by a team of neuroscientists available on Spotify gives people aesthetic chills? Frisson is a French word that means a sudden sensation or feeling of thrill, emotion, or excitement. The feelings of frisson are not only confined to music. For example, frisson can also be felt after staring at a beautiful painting or a sunset.

Psychologists believe that frisson is usually caused after realizing a deep truth or insight. Some researchers also describe this feeling as a skin orgasm or piloerection because it also retains similar experiences to a sexual orgasm. Some researchers also mentioned frisson as pleasurable gooseflesh.

However, the more mental health advantages of frisson are not well understood yet and some of the researchers are still researching.

What Does the Research Say About Frisson?

Frisson is a physical sign caused by the dualism of mind and body known as a somatic marker. Other examples can be disgust or nausea, the physical signs can be seen when the body coincides with such emotions in the mind.

Research shows that frisson’s somatic market peaks up emotional experiences and helps people form meaningful moments while being triggered by the stimuli. This is why frisson is also known as aesthetic chills and a universal marker of increased emotional experiences.

Prevalence-related research for frisson shows that around 50% of the population experiences shivers, goosebumps, or lump in the throat while listening to the music.

A study published by USC in 2017 shows that people who were asked to listen to their favorite songs, felt a chill, and their MRI reports show that their brains turned out to have a higher number of fibers connected with their auditory cortex. This means that people who experience frisson tend to have bigger emotional processing.

Additionally, a report from Motivation and Emotion published in 2007 shows that people who experience frisson tend to be more open to new experiences and they also have enhanced intellectual curiosity and levels of creativity.

I hope this blog helps you understand everything about frisson or aesthetic chills. Comment down and share your experiences related to frisson. For more such content, connect with us through social media.

Thanks for reading!