Frission: The Musical Chills
Goosebumps- no not scary children’s stories by R.L. Stine, but the kind that cause the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck to stand when you’re cold or surprised. Many of us have had them, but have you ever experienced them whilst listening to a song?
Frission is a French word meaning “aesthetic chills” is a word used to describe the experience of getting goosebumps or chills from listening to a great piece of music (for simplicity we will be using this word to describe getting chills from music). While it may seem like a purely physical response to a music stimuli, it is in fact, also an emotional response as well. Research regarding this phenomenon is split as to the percentage of people who experience musical chills. However, it can be anywhere from 55% to 86%. Scientists and researchers are still unsure of why frission occurs there have been many speculations.
The prevailing theory as to why one might experience chills when listening to music is because the music essentially startles the person. When you listen to music you are expecting it to flow a certain way. If the path deviates from the result could be musical chills.
A study at Eastern Washington University examined the relationship between personality and the occurrence of frission. The study found that individuals who scored higher on the personality trait for ‘openness to experience’ were more likely to experience frission. This was not the first study to conclude this, however, up until this point the occurrence of musical chills was primarily thought to be caused by an emotional response to the music. The results from Eastern Washington University suggests otherwise. The researchers indicate the components of the personality trait itself is what causes some people to experience frission.
Regardless of the cause musical chills are an interesting and great way to experience music.