First systematic study of people who can give themselves goose-bumps at will

By Christian Jarrett For most of us, goose-bumps are something that happens outside of our conscious control, either when we’re cold or afraid, or because we’ve been moved by music or poignant art. However, it seems there are a few individuals with a kind of psychophysiological super-power – they can give themselves goose-bumps at will. For a new study, which they’ve released as a pre-print at PeerJ, a team led by James Heathers at Northeastern University, Boston, created a Facebook group with descriptions of “voluntary piloerection”, to use the technical term,  and invited anyone with this ability to complete a comprehensive questionnaire. Thirty-two voluntary goose-bumpers took part. Though the results are preliminary, this is a landmark study considering that voluntary piloerection has not previously been subject to systematic investigation, and that the scientific record contains just three prior case studies over a period of more than a century. The average age of the individuals who answered the survey was 32 and there were many consistencies in their descriptions of their goose-bump ability, closely matching the few obscure accounts in the existing medical literature. Nearly three quarters said that the voluntary sensation or action began on the back of their head or neck; many described a shiver or tingle down the spine; and ninety per cent said the sensation manifested on their arms, among other body areas. The participants overwhe...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: biological Emotion Unusual case studies Source Type: blogs