Earworm: Difference between revisions
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imported>OAbot m Open access bot: url-access updated in citation with #oabot. |
imported>MichaelMaggs Changing short description from "Music or phrase that repeats in the mind, especially when unwanted" to "Music or saying that sticks in the mind" |
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{{Short description|Music or | {{Short description|Music or saying that sticks in the mind}} | ||
{{Other uses}} | {{Other uses}} | ||
{{Distinguish|Earwig}} | {{Distinguish|Earwig}} | ||
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}} | {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}} | ||
An '''earworm''' or '''brainworm''',<ref name="Musicophilia">{{cite book|last=Sacks|first=Oliver|title=[[Musicophilia|Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain]]|publisher=First Vintage Books|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4000-3353-9|pages=41–48|author-link=Oliver Sacks}}</ref> also described as '''sticky music''' or '''stuck song syndrome''',<ref name="theworld2">{{cite news|last1=Chatterjee|first1=Rhitu|date=2012-03-07|title=Earworms: Why songs get stuck in our heads|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17105759}}</ref> is a [[Catchiness|catchy]] or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oxford Dictionaries: "earworm"|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/earworm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329182203/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/earworm | An '''earworm''' or '''brainworm''',<ref name="Musicophilia">{{cite book|last=Sacks|first=Oliver|title=[[Musicophilia|Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain]]|publisher=First Vintage Books|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4000-3353-9|pages=41–48|author-link=Oliver Sacks}}</ref> also described as '''sticky music''' or '''stuck song syndrome''',<ref name="theworld2">{{cite news|last1=Chatterjee|first1=Rhitu|date=2012-03-07|title=Earworms: Why songs get stuck in our heads|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17105759}}</ref> is a [[Catchiness|catchy]] or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oxford Dictionaries: "earworm"|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/earworm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329182203/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/earworm|archive-date=March 29, 2013|access-date=July 4, 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Halpern|first1=Andrea R.|last2=Bartlett|first2=James C.|date=2011-04-01|title=The Persistence of Musical Memories: A Descriptive Study of Earworms|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/mp/article-abstract/28/4/425/62495/The-Persistence-of-Musical-Memories-A-Descriptive?redirectedFrom=fulltext|journal=[[Music Perception]]|volume=28|issue=4|pages=425–432|doi=10.1525/mp.2011.28.4.425|issn=0730-7829|url-access=subscription}}</ref> '''Involuntary Musical Imagery''' ('''INMI''') is most common after earworms,<ref name="Jakubowski Finkel Stewart Müllensiefen 2017 pp. 122–1352">{{cite journal |last1=Jakubowski |first1=Kelly |last2=Finkel |first2=Sebastian |last3=Stewart |first3=Lauren |last4=Müllensiefen |first4=Daniel |year=2017 |title=Dissecting an earworm: Melodic features and song popularity predict involuntary musical imagery |url=https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/aca-aca0000090.pdf |journal=[[Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts]] |publisher=American Psychological Association (APA) |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=122–135 |doi=10.1037/aca0000090 |issn=1931-390X}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=T. I. |year=2015 |title=The classification of involuntary musical imagery: The case for earworms |url=https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/40630/2/Classification%20of%20INMI%20revision%203%20-%20Centaur.pdf |journal=Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain |publisher=[[American Psychological Association]] |volume=15 |pages=5–13 |doi=10.1037/pmu0000082 |number=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Williamson |first1=Victoria J. |last2=Jilka |first2=Sagar R. |last3=Fry |first3=Joshua |last4=Finkel |first4=Sebastian |last5=Müllensiefen |first5=Daniel |last6=Stewart |first6=Lauren |date=2011-09-27 |title=How do "earworms" start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery |journal=Psychology of Music |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=259–284 |doi=10.1177/0305735611418553 |s2cid=145466099}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Filippidi |first1=I. |last2=Timmers |first2=R. |year=2017 |title=Relationships between everyday music listening habits and involuntary musical imagery: Does music listening condition musical imagery? |journal=Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain |publisher=[[American Psychological Association]] |volume=27 |pages=312–326 |doi=10.1037/pmu0000194 |s2cid=149182669 |number=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jakubowski |first1=Kelly |last2=Farrugia |first2=Nicolas |last3=Halpern |first3=Andrea R. |last4=Sankarpandi |first4=Sathish K. |last5=Stewart |first5=Lauren |date=2015-11-01 |title=The speed of our mental soundtracks: Tracking the tempo of involuntary musical imagery in everyday life |url= |journal=[[Memory & Cognition]] |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=1229–1242 |doi=10.3758/s13421-015-0531-5 |issn=1532-5946 |pmc=4624826 |pmid=26122757}}</ref> but INMI as a label is not solely restricted to earworms; [[musical hallucinations]] also fall into this category, although they are not the same thing.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hemming|first1=J.|last2=Merrill|first2=J.|year=2015|title=On the distinction between involuntary musical imagery, musical hallucinosis, and musical hallucinations|journal=Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain|volume=25|issue=4|pages=435–442|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|doi=10.1037/pmu0000112}}</ref> Earworms are considered to be a common type of [[Involuntary memory|involuntary cognition]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last1=Moeck|first1=E. K.|last2=Hyman|first2=I. E|last3=Takarangi|first3=M. K. Y.|year=2018|journal=Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain|title=Understanding the overlap between positive and negative involuntary cognitions using instrumental earworms|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|volume=28|number=3|pages=164–177|doi=10.1037/pmu0000217|s2cid=150180837}}</ref> Some of the phrases often used to describe earworms include "musical imagery repetition" and "involuntary musical imagery".<ref name="Musicophilia" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Liikkanen|first1=L. A.|year=2012|title=Inducing involuntary musical imagery: An experimental study|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~liikkane/2011-INMI-MusSci.pdf|journal=[[Musicae Scientiae]]|volume=16|issue=2|pages=217–234|doi=10.1177/1029864912440770|s2cid=146451325}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Liikkanen|first=Lassi A.|year=2008|title=Music in Everymind: Commonality of Involuntary Musical Imagery|url=http://i.org.helsinki.fi/lassial/files/publications/080904-Music_in_everymind_pdf.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC 10)|location=Sapporo, Japan|pages=408–412|isbn=978-4-9904208-0-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203150256/http://i.org.helsinki.fi/lassial/files/publications/080904-Music_in_everymind_pdf.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> | ||
The word ''[[Wikt:earworm|earworm]]'' is a [[calque]] from the German ''{{Lang|de|[[Wikt:Ohrwurm|Ohrwurm]]}}''.<!--, which has had this since since the mid-20th century.--><ref>[http://www.wordspy.com/words/earworm.asp "earworm"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015025919/http://www.wordspy.com/words/earworm.asp |date=October 15, 2014 }}, wordspy.com</ref><ref>[https://www.dwds.de/wb/Ohrwurm "Ohrwurm"], www.dwds.de</ref> The earliest known English usage is in [[Desmond Bagley|Desmond Bagley's]] 1978 novel ''[[Flyaway (novel)|Flyaway]]'', where the author points out the German origin of his word.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kruszelnicki |first=Dr Karl |date=2016-11-29 |title=The earworms you can't get out of your head |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/greatmomentsinscience/the-earworms-you-cant-get-out-of-your-head/8064664 |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=ABC Radio National |language=en}}</ref> | The word ''[[Wikt:earworm|earworm]]'' is a [[calque]] from the German ''{{Lang|de|[[Wikt:Ohrwurm|Ohrwurm]]}}''.<!--, which has had this since since the mid-20th century.--><ref>[http://www.wordspy.com/words/earworm.asp "earworm"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015025919/http://www.wordspy.com/words/earworm.asp |date=October 15, 2014 }}, wordspy.com</ref><ref>[https://www.dwds.de/wb/Ohrwurm "Ohrwurm"], www.dwds.de</ref> The earliest known English usage is in [[Desmond Bagley|Desmond Bagley's]] 1978 novel ''[[Flyaway (novel)|Flyaway]]'', where the author points out the German origin of his word.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kruszelnicki |first=Dr Karl |date=2016-11-29 |title=The earworms you can't get out of your head |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/greatmomentsinscience/the-earworms-you-cant-get-out-of-your-head/8064664 |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=ABC Radio National |language=en}}</ref> | ||
Researchers who have studied and written about the phenomenon include [[Theodor Reik]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Reik|first=Theodor|year=1953|title=The Haunting Melody: Psychoanalytic Experiences in Life and Music|publisher=Grove Press |location=New York}}</ref> Sean Bennett,<ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://www.seanbennett.net/music/essays.html |first=Sean |last=Bennett |title=Musical Imagery Repetition |publisher=Cambridge University |type=Master |date=August 30, 2002}}</ref> [[Oliver Sacks]],<ref name="Musicophilia" /> [[Daniel Levitin]],<ref name="Levitin">{{cite book |last=Levitin |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Levitin |title=This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_B3CEBJhhBQC&q=%22this+is+your+brain+on+music%22+levitin+ocd&pg=PT111 |access-date=August 7, 2012 |year=2006 |publisher=Dutton, Penguin|location=New York|isbn= | Researchers who have studied and written about the phenomenon include [[Theodor Reik]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Reik|first=Theodor|year=1953|title=The Haunting Melody: Psychoanalytic Experiences in Life and Music|publisher=Grove Press |location=New York}}</ref> Sean Bennett,<ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://www.seanbennett.net/music/essays.html |first=Sean |last=Bennett |title=Musical Imagery Repetition |publisher=Cambridge University |type=Master |date=August 30, 2002 |archive-date=January 28, 2018 |access-date=June 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128085737/http://www.seanbennett.net/music/essays.html }}</ref> [[Oliver Sacks]],<ref name="Musicophilia" /> [[Daniel Levitin]],<ref name="Levitin">{{cite book |last=Levitin |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Levitin |title=This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_B3CEBJhhBQC&q=%22this+is+your+brain+on+music%22+levitin+ocd&pg=PT111 |access-date=August 7, 2012 |year=2006 |publisher=Dutton, Penguin|location=New York|isbn=0-452-28852-5}}</ref> James Kellaris,<ref>{{cite journal |first=James J. |last=Kellaris |title=Identifying Properties of Tunes That Get 'Stuck in Your Head' |journal=Proceedings of the Society for Consumer Psychology |date=Winter 2001 |location=Scottsdale, Arizona|publisher=[[American Psychological Society]]|pages=66–67}}</ref> Philip Beaman,<ref name=beaman/> Vicky Williamson,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17105759 |title=Earworms: Why songs get stuck in our heads|last=Chatterjee|first=Rhitu|date=March 6, 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref> [[Diana Deutsch]],<ref name="Deutsch2019">{{cite book |last=Deutsch| first=D. |title=Musical Illusions and Phantom Words: How Music and Speech Unlock Mysteries of the Brain |chapter=Catchy Music and Earworms |year=2019 |pages=116–127 |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/musical-illusions-and-phantom-words-9780190206833| publisher=Oxford University Press |lccn=2018051786 |author-link=Diana Deutsch |isbn=978-0-19-020683-3}}</ref> and, in a more theoretical perspective, [[Peter Szendy]],<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Music/Philosophy/?view=usa&ci=9780823234387|first=Peter|last=Szendy|title=Hits. Philosophy in the Jukebox|others=translated by William Bishop |publisher=Fordham University Press|year=2012}}</ref> along with many more. The phenomenon is distinct from [[palinacousis]], a rare medical condition caused by damage to the [[temporal lobe]] of the brain that results in [[auditory hallucination]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Moore|first1=David R.|last2=Fuchs|first2=Paul Paul Albert|last3=Rees|first3=Adrian|last4=Palmer|first4=Alan|last5=Plack|first5=Christopher J.|title=The Oxford Handbook of Auditory Science: The Auditory Brain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAHHJymFle8C&q=palinacousis+definition&pg=PA535|access-date=July 3, 2013|date=January 21, 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=535|isbn=978-0-19-923328-1}}</ref> | ||
==Incidence and causes== | ==Incidence and causes== | ||
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Researcher Vicky Williamson at [[Goldsmiths, University of London]], found in an uncontrolled study that earworms correlated with music exposure, but could also be triggered by experiences that trigger the memory of a song ([[involuntary memory]]) such as seeing a word that reminds one of the song, hearing a few notes from the song, or feeling an emotion one associates with the song. The list of songs collected in the study showed no particular pattern, other than popularity.<ref name="theworld2"/> | Researcher Vicky Williamson at [[Goldsmiths, University of London]], found in an uncontrolled study that earworms correlated with music exposure, but could also be triggered by experiences that trigger the memory of a song ([[involuntary memory]]) such as seeing a word that reminds one of the song, hearing a few notes from the song, or feeling an emotion one associates with the song. The list of songs collected in the study showed no particular pattern, other than popularity.<ref name="theworld2"/> | ||
According to research by James Kellaris, 98% of individuals experience earworms. Women and men experience the phenomenon equally often, but earworms tend to last longer for women and irritate them more.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2901/why-do-songs-get-stuck-in-your-head|work=The Straight Dope|title=Why do songs get stuck in your head?|date=October 16, 2009|first=Cecil|last=Adams|author-link=Cecil Adams}}</ref> Kellaris produced statistics suggesting that songs with lyrics may account for 73.7% of earworms, whereas instrumental music may cause only 7.7%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uc.edu/news/kellaris.htm|title=Songs That Cause The Brain To 'Itch': UC Professor Investigating Why Certain Tunes Get Stuck In Our Heads|last1=Hoffman|first1=Carey|date=2001-04-04|publisher=University of Cincinnati | According to research by James Kellaris, 98% of individuals experience earworms. Women and men experience the phenomenon equally often, but earworms tend to last longer for women and irritate them more.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2901/why-do-songs-get-stuck-in-your-head|work=The Straight Dope|title=Why do songs get stuck in your head?|date=October 16, 2009|first=Cecil|last=Adams|author-link=Cecil Adams}}</ref> Kellaris produced statistics suggesting that songs with lyrics may account for 73.7% of earworms, whereas instrumental music may cause only 7.7%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uc.edu/news/kellaris.htm|title=Songs That Cause The Brain To 'Itch': UC Professor Investigating Why Certain Tunes Get Stuck In Our Heads|last1=Hoffman|first1=Carey|date=2001-04-04|publisher=University of Cincinnati |access-date=2012-08-06|quote=Of the 1,000 respondents, the kind of music respondents said they got stuck on most recently were songs with lyrics for 73.7 percent, jingles or ads for 18.6 percent and an instrumental tune for 7.7 percent.}}</ref> | ||
In 2010, published data in the ''[[British Journal of Psychology]]'' directly addressed the subject, and its results support earlier claims that earworms are usually 15 to 30 seconds in length and are more common in those with an interest in music.<ref name=beaman/> Earworms can occur with either 'positive' or 'negative' music.<ref name=":12"/> Positive music in this case is music that sounds happy | In 2010, published data in the ''[[British Journal of Psychology]]'' directly addressed the subject, and its results support earlier claims that earworms are usually 15 to 30 seconds in length and are more common in those with an interest in music.<ref name=beaman/> Earworms can occur with either 'positive' or 'negative' music.<ref name=":12"/> Positive music in this case is music that sounds happy or calm. Negative music is the opposite, where the music sounds angry or sad. | ||
Earworms are not related only to music with lyrics; in a research experiment conducted by Ella Moeck and her colleagues in an attempt to find out if the positive | Earworms are not related only to music with lyrics; in a research experiment conducted by Ella Moeck and her colleagues in an attempt to find out if the positive or negative feeling of a piece of music affected earworms caused by that piece, they used only instrumental music.<ref name=":12" /> Her experiment determined that all participants experienced a similar quantity of earworms, regardless of the [[emotional valence]], although the quality of the earworm did vary. The earworms born from the negatively valenced music brought about more distress and occurred less frequently than those produced by positively valenced music.<ref name=":12" /> | ||
==Antidotes== | ==Antidotes== | ||
Scientists at [[Western Washington University]] found that engaging [[working memory]] in moderately difficult tasks such as [[anagram]]s, puzzles or reading was an effective way of stopping earworms and of reducing their recurrence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9950143/Get-that-tune-out-of-your-head-scientists-find-how-to-get-rid-of-earworms.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324212929/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9950143/Get-that-tune-out-of-your-head-scientists-find-how-to-get-rid-of-earworms.html | Scientists at [[Western Washington University]] found that engaging [[working memory]] in moderately difficult tasks such as [[anagram]]s, puzzles or reading was an effective way of stopping earworms and of reducing their recurrence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9950143/Get-that-tune-out-of-your-head-scientists-find-how-to-get-rid-of-earworms.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324212929/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9950143/Get-that-tune-out-of-your-head-scientists-find-how-to-get-rid-of-earworms.html|archive-date=March 24, 2013|title=Get that tune out of your head – scientists find how to get rid of earworms|last=Gray|first=Richard|date=March 24, 2013|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref> Another publication points out that melodic music has a tendency to demonstrate repeating rhythm which may lead to endless repetition, unless a climax can be achieved to break the cycle.<ref>{{cite book|title=Machine Models of Music|page=[https://archive.org/details/machinemodelsofm00step/page/174 174]|first1=Stephan M.|last1=Schwanauer|first2=David A.|last2=Levitt|publisher=MIT Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-262-19319-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/machinemodelsofm00step/page/174}}</ref> | ||
Research reported in 2015 by the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the [[University of Reading]] demonstrated that [[chewing gum]] could help by similarly blocking the sub-vocal rehearsal component of auditory short-term or "working" memory associated with generating and manipulating auditory and musical images.<ref>[http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR631000.aspx "Listen up – new research shows chewing gum could remove that stuck record in your head"], University of Reading, 22 April 2015</ref> It has also been suggested to ask oneself why one is experiencing this particular song.<ref name="Deutsch2019" /> Another suggested remedy is to try to find a "cure song" to stop the repeating music.<ref name=marysue>[https://www.themarysue.com/earworm-cure-songs/ "Science Identified 'Cure Songs' to Get Songs Unstuck From Your Brain, I Guess All Diseases Have Been Cured"] by Dan Van Winkle, ''[[The Mary Sue]]'', March 3, 2014</ref><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Williamson VJ, Liikkanen LA, Jakubowski K, Stewart L | title = Sticky tunes: how do people react to involuntary musical imagery? | journal =[[PLOS ONE]]| volume = 9 | issue = 1 | | Research reported in 2015 by the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the [[University of Reading]] demonstrated that [[chewing gum]] could help by similarly blocking the sub-vocal rehearsal component of auditory short-term or "working" memory associated with generating and manipulating auditory and musical images.<ref>[http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR631000.aspx "Listen up – new research shows chewing gum could remove that stuck record in your head"], University of Reading, 22 April 2015</ref> It has also been suggested to ask oneself why one is experiencing this particular song.<ref name="Deutsch2019" /> Another suggested remedy is to try to find a "cure song" to stop the repeating music.<ref name=marysue>[https://www.themarysue.com/earworm-cure-songs/ "Science Identified 'Cure Songs' to Get Songs Unstuck From Your Brain, I Guess All Diseases Have Been Cured"] by Dan Van Winkle, ''[[The Mary Sue]]'', March 3, 2014</ref><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Williamson VJ, Liikkanen LA, Jakubowski K, Stewart L | title = Sticky tunes: how do people react to involuntary musical imagery? | journal =[[PLOS ONE]]| volume = 9 | issue = 1 | article-number = e86170 | year = 2014 | pmid = 24497938 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0086170 | pmc = 3908735 | bibcode = 2014PLoSO...986170W | doi-access = free }}</ref> | ||
There are also so-called "cure songs" or "cure tunes" to get the earworm out of one's head. "[[God Save the King]]" is cited as a very popular and helpful choice of cure song.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Music : How to get rid of an earworm|url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/music/research/earworms/remedies/ | There are also so-called "cure songs" or "cure tunes" to get the earworm out of one's head. "[[God Save the King]]" is cited as a very popular and helpful choice of cure song.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Music: How to get rid of an earworm|url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/music/research/earworms/remedies/ |access-date=2020-07-19|publisher=Durham University}}, citing Williamson et al. 2014</ref> "[[Happy Birthday to You|Happy Birthday]]" was also a popular choice in cure songs.<ref name=marysue /> | ||
Listening to the tune in a different | Listening to the tune in a different tempo or lower pitch, or a remixed version if it exists, can be an antidote. Listening to the tune from start to finish can also help. Since earworms are usually only a fragment of music, playing the tune all the way through can help break the loop.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.abc.net.au/classic/read-and-watch/music-reads/how-to-get-rid-of-an-earworm/12151374 | title=How do you get rid of an earworm? | website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=April 16, 2020 }}</ref> | ||
Listening to the tune from start to finish can also help. Since earworms are usually only a fragment of music, playing the tune all the way through can help break the loop.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.abc.net.au/classic/read-and-watch/music-reads/how-to-get-rid-of-an-earworm/12151374 | title=How do you get rid of an earworm? | website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=April 16, 2020 }}</ref> | |||
==Notable cases== | ==Notable cases== | ||
[[Jean Harris]], who murdered [[Herman Tarnower]], was obsessed with the song "[[Put the Blame on Mame]]" by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, which she first heard in the film ''[[Gilda (film)|Gilda]]'' (1946). She would [[Intrusive thoughts|recall this regularly]] for over 33 years and could hold a conversation while playing it in her mind.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Jean Harris' Obsessive Film Song Recall|first=Cora L.|last=Díaz de Chumaceiro|url=http://www.psyartjournal.com/article/show/de_chumaceiro-jean_harris_obsessive_film_song_recall|journal=PsyArt|date=October 16, 2004|access-date=December 11, 2011|archive-date=August 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801022050/http://www.psyartjournal.com/article/show/de_chumaceiro-jean_harris_obsessive_film_song_recall | [[Jean Harris]], who murdered [[Herman Tarnower]], was obsessed with the song "[[Put the Blame on Mame]]" by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, which she first heard in the film ''[[Gilda (film)|Gilda]]'' (1946). She would [[Intrusive thoughts|recall this regularly]] for over 33 years and could even hold a conversation while playing it in her mind.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Jean Harris' Obsessive Film Song Recall|first=Cora L.|last=Díaz de Chumaceiro|url=http://www.psyartjournal.com/article/show/de_chumaceiro-jean_harris_obsessive_film_song_recall|journal=PsyArt|date=October 16, 2004|access-date=December 11, 2011|archive-date=August 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801022050/http://www.psyartjournal.com/article/show/de_chumaceiro-jean_harris_obsessive_film_song_recall}}</ref> | ||
==In popular culture== | ==In popular culture== | ||
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[[Mark Twain]]'s 1876 story "[[A Literary Nightmare]]" (also known as "Punch, Brothers, Punch") is about a [[jingle]] that one can get rid of only by transferring it to another person. | [[Mark Twain]]'s 1876 story "[[A Literary Nightmare]]" (also known as "Punch, Brothers, Punch") is about a [[jingle]] that one can get rid of only by transferring it to another person. | ||
In 1943 [[Henry Kuttner]] published the short story "[[Nothing but Gingerbread Left]]" about a song engineered to damage the Nazi war effort, culminating in [[Adolf Hitler]] being unable to continue a speech.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://henrykuttner.bravehost.com/Kuttner,%20Henry%20-%20Nothing%20But%20Gingerbread%20Left.html|title=Nothing But Gingerbread Left|last=Kuttner|first=Henry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314223346/http://henrykuttner.bravehost.com/Kuttner,%20Henry%20-%20Nothing%20But%20Gingerbread%20Left.html|archive-date=March 14, 2012 | In 1943 [[Henry Kuttner]] published the short story "[[Nothing but Gingerbread Left]]" about a song engineered to damage the Nazi war effort, culminating in [[Adolf Hitler]] being unable to continue a speech.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://henrykuttner.bravehost.com/Kuttner,%20Henry%20-%20Nothing%20But%20Gingerbread%20Left.html|title=Nothing But Gingerbread Left|last=Kuttner|first=Henry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314223346/http://henrykuttner.bravehost.com/Kuttner,%20Henry%20-%20Nothing%20But%20Gingerbread%20Left.html|archive-date=March 14, 2012|access-date=October 10, 2017}} ''Full text of story''</ref> | ||
In [[Alfred Bester]]'s 1953 novel ''[[The Demolished Man]]'', the protagonist uses a jingle specifically crafted to be a catchy, irritating nuisance as a tool to block mind readers from reading his mind. | In [[Alfred Bester]]'s 1953 novel ''[[The Demolished Man]]'', the protagonist uses a jingle specifically crafted to be a catchy, irritating nuisance as a tool to block mind readers from reading his mind. | ||
In [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s 1957 science fiction short story "[[The Ultimate Melody]]", a scientist, Gilbert Lister, develops the ultimate melody – one that so compels the brain that its listener becomes completely and forever enraptured by it. As the storyteller, Harry Purvis, explains, Lister theorized that a great melody "made its impression on the mind because it fitted in with the fundamental electrical rhythms going on in the brain." Lister attempts to abstract from the hit tunes of the day to a melody that fits in so well with the electrical rhythms that it dominates them completely. He succeeds and is found in a catatonic state from which he never awakens.<ref>{{citation|url=http://deoxy.org/alephnull/melody.htm|title=The Ultimate Melody by Arthur C. Clarke|work=The Web site of aleph|first=Michael|last=Chorost | In [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s 1957 science fiction short story "[[The Ultimate Melody]]", a scientist, Gilbert Lister, develops the ultimate melody – one that so compels the brain that its listener becomes completely and forever enraptured by it. As the storyteller, Harry Purvis, explains, Lister theorized that a great melody "made its impression on the mind because it fitted in with the fundamental electrical rhythms going on in the brain." Lister attempts to abstract from the hit tunes of the day to a melody that fits in so well with the electrical rhythms that it dominates them completely. He succeeds and is found in a catatonic state from which he never awakens.<ref>{{citation|url=http://deoxy.org/alephnull/melody.htm|title=The Ultimate Melody by Arthur C. Clarke|work=The Web site of aleph|first=Michael|last=Chorost |access-date=2010-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101171528/http://deoxy.org/alephnull/melody.htm|archive-date=2011-01-01|url-status=usurped}}</ref> | ||
In [[Fritz Leiber]]'s [[Hugo Award]]-nominated short story "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee" (1959), the title describes a rhythmic drumbeat so powerful that it rapidly spreads to all areas of human culture, until a counter-rhythm is developed that acts as an antidote.<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JATrt8qhXqIC&pg=PA218|title=The Wavewatcher's Companion|first=Gavin|last=Pretor-Pinney|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7475-8976-1|page=218}}</ref> | In [[Fritz Leiber]]'s [[Hugo Award]]-nominated short story "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee" (1959), the title describes a rhythmic drumbeat so powerful that it rapidly spreads to all areas of human culture, until a counter-rhythm is developed that acts as an antidote.<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JATrt8qhXqIC&pg=PA218|title=The Wavewatcher's Companion|first=Gavin|last=Pretor-Pinney|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7475-8976-1|page=218}}</ref> | ||
In [[Joe Simpson (mountaineer)|Joe Simpson]]'s 1988 book ''[[Touching the Void (book)|Touching the Void]]'', he talks about not being able to get the tune "[[Brown Girl in the Ring (song)|Brown Girl in the Ring]]" by [[Boney M]] out of his head. The book tells of his survival, against the odds, after a mountaineering accident in the remote [[Siula Grande]] region of South America. Alone, badly injured, and in a semi-delirious state, he is confused as to whether he is imagining the music or really hearing it.<ref>{{cite book|last=Simpson |first=Joe|title=Touching the Void|url=https://archive.org/details/touchingvoid000simp |url-access=registration |year=1988|publisher=Harper & Row |isbn= | In [[Joe Simpson (mountaineer)|Joe Simpson]]'s 1988 book ''[[Touching the Void (book)|Touching the Void]]'', he talks about not being able to get the tune "[[Brown Girl in the Ring (song)|Brown Girl in the Ring]]" by [[Boney M]] out of his head. The book tells of his survival, against the odds, after a mountaineering accident in the remote [[Siula Grande]] region of South America. Alone, badly injured, and in a semi-delirious state, he is confused as to whether he is imagining the music or really hearing it.<ref>{{cite book|last=Simpson |first=Joe|title=Touching the Void|url=https://archive.org/details/touchingvoid000simp |url-access=registration |year=1988|publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-016027-2}}</ref> | ||
In the ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' episode titled "Head Band", a contagious group of [[virus]]es force their host to sing what they are saying to the same "boy band" tune. The only way to be cured of the Boy Band Virus is for the viruses to break up and start their own solo careers.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.tv.com/shows/dexters-laboratory/head-band-stuffed-animal-house-used-ink-1591794/|title = Dexter's Laboratory: Head Band / Stuffed Animal House / Used Ink|access-date = May 29, 2014|website = TV.com|archive-date = February 26, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210226203957/http://www.tv.com/shows/dexters-laboratory/head-band-stuffed-animal-house-used-ink-1591794/ | In the ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' episode titled "Head Band", a contagious group of [[virus]]es force their host to sing what they are saying to the same "boy band" tune. The only way to be cured of the Boy Band Virus is for the viruses to break up and start their own solo careers.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.tv.com/shows/dexters-laboratory/head-band-stuffed-animal-house-used-ink-1591794/|title = Dexter's Laboratory: Head Band / Stuffed Animal House / Used Ink|access-date = May 29, 2014|website = TV.com|archive-date = February 26, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210226203957/http://www.tv.com/shows/dexters-laboratory/head-band-stuffed-animal-house-used-ink-1591794/}}</ref> | ||
In the ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode titled | In the ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode titled "Earworm", SpongeBob gets the "Musical Doodle" song stuck in his head, giving him an earworm, which ultimately turns out to be an actual worm, which is removed by his friends singing or playing other songs. | ||
In ''[[The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part]]'' there is a scene in which most of the film's characters are subjected to "[[Catchy Song]]" and all except Lucy dance to it, while simultaneously the denizens of Harmony Town sing it to Emmet and Rex. Lucy/Wildstyle avoids being "brainwashed" by the song by breaking one of the speakers and using some of its pieces to build earmuffs for herself before escaping via air ducts, while Emmet and Rex escape in a similar fashion. | In ''[[The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part]]'' there is a scene in which most of the film's characters are subjected to "[[Catchy Song]]" and all except Lucy dance to it, while simultaneously the denizens of Harmony Town sing it to Emmet and Rex. Lucy/Wildstyle avoids being "brainwashed" by the song by breaking one of the speakers and using some of its pieces to build earmuffs for herself before escaping via air ducts, while Emmet and Rex escape in a similar fashion. | ||
[[E. B. White]]'s 1933 [[Satire|satirical]] short story "The Supremacy of Uruguay" (reprinted in ''[[Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow]]'') relates a fictional episode in the history of Uruguay where a powerful earworm is discovered in a popular American song. The Uruguayan military builds a squadron of [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|pilotless aircraft]] armed with [[phonograph]]s playing a highly amplified recording of the earworm, and conquers the entire world by reducing the citizens of all nations to mindless insanity. "[T]he peoples were hopelessly mad, ravaged by an ineradicable noise ... No one could hear anything except the noise in his own head."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armandobronca.com/the-supremacy-of-uruguay_95 |title=The Supremacy of Uruguay |date=July 24, 2007 |publisher=www.armandobronca.com |access-date=January 17, 2014 |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227213304/http://www.armandobronca.com/the-supremacy-of-uruguay_95/ | [[E. B. White]]'s 1933 [[Satire|satirical]] short story "The Supremacy of Uruguay" (reprinted in ''[[Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow]]'') relates a fictional episode in the history of Uruguay where a powerful earworm is discovered in a popular American song. The Uruguayan military builds a squadron of [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|pilotless aircraft]] armed with [[phonograph]]s playing a highly amplified recording of the earworm, and conquers the entire world by reducing the citizens of all nations to mindless insanity. "[T]he peoples were hopelessly mad, ravaged by an ineradicable noise ... No one could hear anything except the noise in his own head."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armandobronca.com/the-supremacy-of-uruguay_95 |title=The Supremacy of Uruguay |date=July 24, 2007 |publisher=www.armandobronca.com |access-date=January 17, 2014 |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227213304/http://www.armandobronca.com/the-supremacy-of-uruguay_95/ }}</ref> | ||
In 2014, musician [[Emperor X]] wrote a deliberately catchy song titled ''[[10,000-Year Earworm to Discourage Settlement Near Nuclear Waste Repositories (Don't Change Color, Kitty)]]'' in reference to the "[[ray cat]]" idea in [[nuclear semiotics]], attempting to embed a warning message in folklore that would still be remembered in 10,000 years' time. | In 2014, musician [[Emperor X]] wrote a deliberately catchy song titled ''[[10,000-Year Earworm to Discourage Settlement Near Nuclear Waste Repositories (Don't Change Color, Kitty)]]'' in reference to the "[[ray cat]]" idea in [[nuclear semiotics]], attempting to embed a warning message in folklore that would still be remembered in 10,000 years' time. | ||
| Line 61: | Line 60: | ||
== Key characteristics == | == Key characteristics == | ||
According to research done in 2016 by Kelly Jakubowski and colleagues, published by the [[American Psychological Association]], there are certain characteristics that make songs more likely to become earworms. Earworm songs usually have a fast-paced tempo and an easy-to-remember melody. However, earworms also tend to have unusual intervals or repetitions that make them stand out from other songs. Earworms also tend to be played on the radio more than other songs and are usually featured at the top of the charts.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Psychologists Identify Key Characteristics of Earworms|date=November 3, 2016|url=https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2016/11/earworms | According to research done in 2016 by Kelly Jakubowski and colleagues, published by the [[American Psychological Association]], there are certain characteristics that make songs more likely to become earworms. Earworm songs usually have a fast-paced tempo and an easy-to-remember melody. However, earworms also tend to have unusual intervals or repetitions that make them stand out from other songs. Earworms also tend to be played on the radio more than other songs and are usually featured at the top of the charts.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Psychologists Identify Key Characteristics of Earworms|date=November 3, 2016|url=https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2016/11/earworms |access-date=2020-07-19|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]}}</ref> The chorus of a song is one of the most reported causes of earworms.<ref name=beaman>{{cite journal |last1=Beaman |first1=C. Philip |last2=Williams |first2=Tim I. |date=2010 |title=Earworms (stuck song syndrome): Towards a natural history of intrusive thoughts |url=https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/5755/1/earworms_write-upBJP.pdf |journal=[[British Journal of Psychology]] |volume=101 |issue=4 |pages=637–653 |doi=10.1348/000712609X479636 |issn=2044-8295 |pmid=19948084}}</ref> | ||
The most frequently named earworms during this study were the following: | The most frequently named earworms during this study were the following: | ||
| Line 68: | Line 67: | ||
# "[[Can't Get You Out of My Head]]" by [[Kylie Minogue]] | # "[[Can't Get You Out of My Head]]" by [[Kylie Minogue]] | ||
# "[[Don't Stop Believin']]" by [[Journey (band)|Journey]] | # "[[Don't Stop Believin']]" by [[Journey (band)|Journey]] | ||
# "[[Somebody That I Used to Know]]" by [[Gotye]] | # "[[Somebody That I Used to Know]]" by [[Gotye]] featuring [[Kimbra]] | ||
# "[[Moves like Jagger]]" by [[Maroon 5]] | # "[[Moves like Jagger]]" by [[Maroon 5]] featuring [[Christina Aguilera]] | ||
# "[[California Gurls]]" by [[Katy Perry]] | # "[[California Gurls]]" by [[Katy Perry]] featuring [[Snoop Dogg]] | ||
# "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" by [[Queen (band)|Queen]] | # "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" by [[Queen (band)|Queen]] | ||
# "[[Alejandro (song)|Alejandro]]" by Lady Gaga | # "[[Alejandro (song)|Alejandro]]" by Lady Gaga | ||
| Line 76: | Line 75: | ||
== Susceptible traits == | == Susceptible traits == | ||
Kazumasa Negishi and Takahiro Sekiguchi did a study to see if there are specific traits that make a person more or less susceptible to earworms or involuntary musical imagery.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Negishi|first1=Kazumasa|last2=Sekiguchi|first2=Takahiro | Kazumasa Negishi and Takahiro Sekiguchi did a study to see if there are specific traits that make a person more or less susceptible to earworms or involuntary musical imagery.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Negishi|first1=Kazumasa|last2=Sekiguchi|first2=Takahiro |date=2020-06-04|editor-last=Sudzina|editor-first=Frantisek|title=Individual traits that influence the frequency and emotional characteristics of involuntary musical imagery: An experience sampling study|journal=[[PLOS ONE]]|volume=15|issue=6|article-number=e0234111|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0234111|issn=1932-6203|pmc=7272041|pmid=32497111|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1534111N|doi-access=free}}</ref> The participants in the study were assessed on [[Obsessive–compulsive spectrum|obsessive-compulsive]] tendencies, the [[Big Five personality traits]], and musical expertise. Negishi and Sekiguchi found that some of the obsessive-compulsive traits, such as [[Intrusive thought|intrusive thoughts]], played a role in experiencing earworms while compulsive washing did not. In terms of the Big Five personality traits, [[neuroticism]] significantly predicted occurrences of earworms. Musical expertise created an effect of sophistication when it came to earworm occurrences. | ||
== Tools used in data gathering == | == Tools used in data gathering == | ||
One tool used to gather data on involuntary musical imagery (INMI)—and, more specifically, earworms—is called the Involuntary Musical Imagery Scale; it was created with the research compiled from George Floridou, Victoria Williamson, and Danial Müllensiefen. It uses four factors to measure different experiences surrounding earworms and INMI in general.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Floridou|first1=G. A.|last2=Williamson|first2=V. J.|last3=Stewart|first3=L.|last4=Müllensiefen|first4=D.|journal=Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, | One tool used to gather data on involuntary musical imagery (INMI)—and, more specifically, earworms—is called the Involuntary Musical Imagery Scale; it was created with the research compiled from George Floridou, Victoria Williamson, and Danial Müllensiefen. It uses four factors to measure different experiences surrounding earworms and INMI in general.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Floridou|first1=G. A.|last2=Williamson|first2=V. J.|last3=Stewart|first3=L.|last4=Müllensiefen|first4=D.|journal=Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|title=The Involuntary Musical Imagery Scale (IMIS)|year=2015|volume=25|pages=28–36|doi=10.1037/pmu0000067|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/92668/1/Floridou%20IMIS%20post%20reviews-ajc_GF.pdf}}</ref> Those four factors include 'Negative Valence', 'Movement', 'Personal Reflections', and 'Help'.<ref name=":2" /> Negative Valence is the category that measures the subjective response to the INMI experience.<ref name=":2" /> Movement, a relatively new aspect of the INMI experience, refers to accompanying embodied responses such as singing, humming, and dancing.<ref name=":2" /> Personal Reflections is the occurrence of a personal quality, like unrelated thoughts, associated with the INMI; they are not directly related to the valence of the INMI itself.<ref name=":2" /> Help is the category which determines the beneficial and constructive aspects to the INMI experiences, which could potentially reflect similarities in the characteristics of unfocused music listing and task-unrelated thought.<ref name=":2" /> | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
| Line 91: | Line 90: | ||
== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
* {{cite book|title=On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind|author=Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978- | * {{cite book|title=On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind|author=Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-999082-5|year=2013|ref=none}} | ||
* {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jun/22/popandrock|title=Can't get it out of my head|author=Vadim Prokhorov|date=June 22, 2006|work=[[The Guardian]]|ref=none}} | * {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jun/22/popandrock|title=Can't get it out of my head|author=Vadim Prokhorov|date=June 22, 2006|work=[[The Guardian]]|ref=none}} | ||
* {{citation|author=Divya Singhal|title=Why this Kolaveri Di: Maddening Phenomenon of Earworm|date=December 8, 2011|ssrn=1969781|ref=none}} | * {{citation|author=Divya Singhal|title=Why this Kolaveri Di: Maddening Phenomenon of Earworm|date=December 8, 2011|ssrn=1969781|ref=none}} | ||
Latest revision as of 09:08, 10 December 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Use mdy dates
An earworm or brainworm,[1] also described as sticky music or stuck song syndrome,[2] is a catchy or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about.[3][4] Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) is most common after earworms,[5][6][7][8][9] but INMI as a label is not solely restricted to earworms; musical hallucinations also fall into this category, although they are not the same thing.[6][10] Earworms are considered to be a common type of involuntary cognition.[11] Some of the phrases often used to describe earworms include "musical imagery repetition" and "involuntary musical imagery".[1][12][13]
The word earworm is a calque from the German Script error: No such module "Lang"..[14][15] The earliest known English usage is in Desmond Bagley's 1978 novel Flyaway, where the author points out the German origin of his word.[16]
Researchers who have studied and written about the phenomenon include Theodor Reik,[17] Sean Bennett,[18] Oliver Sacks,[1] Daniel Levitin,[19] James Kellaris,[20] Philip Beaman,[21] Vicky Williamson,[22] Diana Deutsch,[23] and, in a more theoretical perspective, Peter Szendy,[24] along with many more. The phenomenon is distinct from palinacousis, a rare medical condition caused by damage to the temporal lobe of the brain that results in auditory hallucinations.[25]
Incidence and causes
Researcher Vicky Williamson at Goldsmiths, University of London, found in an uncontrolled study that earworms correlated with music exposure, but could also be triggered by experiences that trigger the memory of a song (involuntary memory) such as seeing a word that reminds one of the song, hearing a few notes from the song, or feeling an emotion one associates with the song. The list of songs collected in the study showed no particular pattern, other than popularity.[2]
According to research by James Kellaris, 98% of individuals experience earworms. Women and men experience the phenomenon equally often, but earworms tend to last longer for women and irritate them more.[26] Kellaris produced statistics suggesting that songs with lyrics may account for 73.7% of earworms, whereas instrumental music may cause only 7.7%.[27]
In 2010, published data in the British Journal of Psychology directly addressed the subject, and its results support earlier claims that earworms are usually 15 to 30 seconds in length and are more common in those with an interest in music.[21] Earworms can occur with either 'positive' or 'negative' music.[11] Positive music in this case is music that sounds happy or calm. Negative music is the opposite, where the music sounds angry or sad.
Earworms are not related only to music with lyrics; in a research experiment conducted by Ella Moeck and her colleagues in an attempt to find out if the positive or negative feeling of a piece of music affected earworms caused by that piece, they used only instrumental music.[11] Her experiment determined that all participants experienced a similar quantity of earworms, regardless of the emotional valence, although the quality of the earworm did vary. The earworms born from the negatively valenced music brought about more distress and occurred less frequently than those produced by positively valenced music.[11]
Antidotes
Scientists at Western Washington University found that engaging working memory in moderately difficult tasks such as anagrams, puzzles or reading was an effective way of stopping earworms and of reducing their recurrence.[28] Another publication points out that melodic music has a tendency to demonstrate repeating rhythm which may lead to endless repetition, unless a climax can be achieved to break the cycle.[29]
Research reported in 2015 by the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading demonstrated that chewing gum could help by similarly blocking the sub-vocal rehearsal component of auditory short-term or "working" memory associated with generating and manipulating auditory and musical images.[30] It has also been suggested to ask oneself why one is experiencing this particular song.[23] Another suggested remedy is to try to find a "cure song" to stop the repeating music.[31][32]
There are also so-called "cure songs" or "cure tunes" to get the earworm out of one's head. "God Save the King" is cited as a very popular and helpful choice of cure song.[33] "Happy Birthday" was also a popular choice in cure songs.[31]
Listening to the tune in a different tempo or lower pitch, or a remixed version if it exists, can be an antidote. Listening to the tune from start to finish can also help. Since earworms are usually only a fragment of music, playing the tune all the way through can help break the loop.[34]
Notable cases
Jean Harris, who murdered Herman Tarnower, was obsessed with the song "Put the Blame on Mame" by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, which she first heard in the film Gilda (1946). She would recall this regularly for over 33 years and could even hold a conversation while playing it in her mind.[35]
In popular culture
Template:Refimprove section Mark Twain's 1876 story "A Literary Nightmare" (also known as "Punch, Brothers, Punch") is about a jingle that one can get rid of only by transferring it to another person.
In 1943 Henry Kuttner published the short story "Nothing but Gingerbread Left" about a song engineered to damage the Nazi war effort, culminating in Adolf Hitler being unable to continue a speech.[36]
In Alfred Bester's 1953 novel The Demolished Man, the protagonist uses a jingle specifically crafted to be a catchy, irritating nuisance as a tool to block mind readers from reading his mind.
In Arthur C. Clarke's 1957 science fiction short story "The Ultimate Melody", a scientist, Gilbert Lister, develops the ultimate melody – one that so compels the brain that its listener becomes completely and forever enraptured by it. As the storyteller, Harry Purvis, explains, Lister theorized that a great melody "made its impression on the mind because it fitted in with the fundamental electrical rhythms going on in the brain." Lister attempts to abstract from the hit tunes of the day to a melody that fits in so well with the electrical rhythms that it dominates them completely. He succeeds and is found in a catatonic state from which he never awakens.[37]
In Fritz Leiber's Hugo Award-nominated short story "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee" (1959), the title describes a rhythmic drumbeat so powerful that it rapidly spreads to all areas of human culture, until a counter-rhythm is developed that acts as an antidote.[38]
In Joe Simpson's 1988 book Touching the Void, he talks about not being able to get the tune "Brown Girl in the Ring" by Boney M out of his head. The book tells of his survival, against the odds, after a mountaineering accident in the remote Siula Grande region of South America. Alone, badly injured, and in a semi-delirious state, he is confused as to whether he is imagining the music or really hearing it.[39]
In the Dexter's Laboratory episode titled "Head Band", a contagious group of viruses force their host to sing what they are saying to the same "boy band" tune. The only way to be cured of the Boy Band Virus is for the viruses to break up and start their own solo careers.[40]
In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode titled "Earworm", SpongeBob gets the "Musical Doodle" song stuck in his head, giving him an earworm, which ultimately turns out to be an actual worm, which is removed by his friends singing or playing other songs.
In The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part there is a scene in which most of the film's characters are subjected to "Catchy Song" and all except Lucy dance to it, while simultaneously the denizens of Harmony Town sing it to Emmet and Rex. Lucy/Wildstyle avoids being "brainwashed" by the song by breaking one of the speakers and using some of its pieces to build earmuffs for herself before escaping via air ducts, while Emmet and Rex escape in a similar fashion.
E. B. White's 1933 satirical short story "The Supremacy of Uruguay" (reprinted in Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow) relates a fictional episode in the history of Uruguay where a powerful earworm is discovered in a popular American song. The Uruguayan military builds a squadron of pilotless aircraft armed with phonographs playing a highly amplified recording of the earworm, and conquers the entire world by reducing the citizens of all nations to mindless insanity. "[T]he peoples were hopelessly mad, ravaged by an ineradicable noise ... No one could hear anything except the noise in his own head."[41]
In 2014, musician Emperor X wrote a deliberately catchy song titled 10,000-Year Earworm to Discourage Settlement Near Nuclear Waste Repositories (Don't Change Color, Kitty) in reference to the "ray cat" idea in nuclear semiotics, attempting to embed a warning message in folklore that would still be remembered in 10,000 years' time.
In 2023–2024, an "earworm eraser" clip created by Atlassian was popularized on social media.[42]
Key characteristics
According to research done in 2016 by Kelly Jakubowski and colleagues, published by the American Psychological Association, there are certain characteristics that make songs more likely to become earworms. Earworm songs usually have a fast-paced tempo and an easy-to-remember melody. However, earworms also tend to have unusual intervals or repetitions that make them stand out from other songs. Earworms also tend to be played on the radio more than other songs and are usually featured at the top of the charts.[43] The chorus of a song is one of the most reported causes of earworms.[21]
The most frequently named earworms during this study were the following:
- "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
- "Can't Get You Out of My Head" by Kylie Minogue
- "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey
- "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra
- "Moves like Jagger" by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
- "California Gurls" by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
- "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
- "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga
- "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga[21]
Susceptible traits
Kazumasa Negishi and Takahiro Sekiguchi did a study to see if there are specific traits that make a person more or less susceptible to earworms or involuntary musical imagery.[44] The participants in the study were assessed on obsessive-compulsive tendencies, the Big Five personality traits, and musical expertise. Negishi and Sekiguchi found that some of the obsessive-compulsive traits, such as intrusive thoughts, played a role in experiencing earworms while compulsive washing did not. In terms of the Big Five personality traits, neuroticism significantly predicted occurrences of earworms. Musical expertise created an effect of sophistication when it came to earworm occurrences.
Tools used in data gathering
One tool used to gather data on involuntary musical imagery (INMI)—and, more specifically, earworms—is called the Involuntary Musical Imagery Scale; it was created with the research compiled from George Floridou, Victoria Williamson, and Danial Müllensiefen. It uses four factors to measure different experiences surrounding earworms and INMI in general.[45] Those four factors include 'Negative Valence', 'Movement', 'Personal Reflections', and 'Help'.[45] Negative Valence is the category that measures the subjective response to the INMI experience.[45] Movement, a relatively new aspect of the INMI experience, refers to accompanying embodied responses such as singing, humming, and dancing.[45] Personal Reflections is the occurrence of a personal quality, like unrelated thoughts, associated with the INMI; they are not directly related to the valence of the INMI itself.[45] Help is the category which determines the beneficial and constructive aspects to the INMI experiences, which could potentially reflect similarities in the characteristics of unfocused music listing and task-unrelated thought.[45]
See also
References
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- ↑ "earworm" Template:Webarchive, wordspy.com
- ↑ "Ohrwurm", www.dwds.de
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- ↑ "Listen up – new research shows chewing gum could remove that stuck record in your head", University of Reading, 22 April 2015
- ↑ a b "Science Identified 'Cure Songs' to Get Songs Unstuck From Your Brain, I Guess All Diseases Have Been Cured" by Dan Van Winkle, The Mary Sue, March 3, 2014
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Further reading
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External links
- The Involuntary Musical Imagery Scale (IMIS) at Goldsmith University of London
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