Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: 1. IntroductionChills are a muscular phenomenon best described as the sensation of coldness created by a rhythmic oscillating tremor of skeletal muscles. In humans, chills are sometimes associated with a positive hedonic process. In the present article, we shall refer to such an event as aesthetic chills. Aesthetic chills appear to be a universal emotional experience (see e.g., McCrae, 2007). In laboratory, this phenomenon has mainly been studied in the field of musicology using tonal music as an elicitor (e.g., Harrison & Loui, 2014) but chills may also be elicited by visual arts, literature, scientific research and religious practices (Schoeller, in press). A large body of evidence seems to point in the direction that chills, shivers and goose bumps reveal something fundamental about human beings and their relation to the natural world (for insightful review, see Maruskin, Trash and Elliott, 2012). However, to this day, there exist no systematic account for these psychobiological events and available data are often contradictory — compare Halpern, et al., (1986) to Gabrielsson (2011) or Goldstein (1980) to Panksepp (1995). In the present article, I propose a theory that reconciles these contradictions, review empirical evidence for such a theory and highlight problems to be addressed in future research.
Source: Frontiers in Psychology
Author: Félix Schoeller
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W2160428525