So far OT....hairs on your neck

[David WE Roberts]

There is a common phrase "Made the hairs of my neck stand on end." How many people have actually experienced this?

Reason I ask is that I am now playing the Paul Rodgers album "Muddy Waters Blues" and for some reason when playing the title track the bit where the female chorus kicks in always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A really wierd experience. Also, I can't really think of a logical explanation based on ancestral "eat it, fight it, f*ck it or run away" reflexes.

Cheers

Dave R

[Andrew Mawson]

It's the same reaction a dog has when something alerts it to danger or the unknown, and its 'hackles' rise ie the hairs along its backbone become erect. It probably stems from a warning response back in time whereby other animals become aware of the presence of a threat.

AWEM

[David WE Roberts]

O.K. - then why do I feel threatened by a chorus of women singing some pretty tasty blues? :-)

[Andy Cap]

Not sure where fear is involved, but when something is exciting, including music, people often say, 'that sent a shiver down my back' and sometimes listening to music does that for me.

On a somewhat similar theme I posted a question about horses and the cold on another board and the fact that mammal raise their coat to give better insulation was mentioned, which is why we get goose-bumps. So there are still some primitive mechanism at work.

Andy C

[Andrew Gabriel]

Sounds can evoke some quite primitive emotions in us. It's not at all clear what the evolutionary advantage of hating the sound of fingernails on a blackboard is, but there's clearly an evolutionary advantage of hating the sound of someone else vomiting (which apparently ranks even higher in the cringe stakes).

[Simon T]

Just to add to the other comments here, its also a response to stimulation.

I often find the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in response to being given a shoulder or scalp massage.

Music can produce an emotional response in people, its probably a side effect of that.

[Bill Wright]

The hairs on my arms stand up when I have abdominal pain.

Bill

[Bob Eager]

When I am about to start wheezing due to a minor asthma problem, the first indication is that the surface of my stomach itches!

[Tim+]

One of these make me go completely weak at the knees and sends delightful shivers down my spine. My wife hates it though. Experimenting on visitors seems to show a marked male bias in those who enjoy it.

[Brian Gaff]

Well maybe, but its more like the effect some get when they have a religious experience I think, maybe we are just cross wired that way.

Brian

[whisky-dave]

I think women get that sensation if they try to walk past a shoe shop.

[sm_jamieson]

Have you seen the American Dad episode where he goes to his daughters rock concert (a real band "My Morning Jacket"), and finds the music eurphoric, entrancing, mesmeric, etc. ? He ends up flying with eagles through outer space or something. Brilliant. Simon.