ORIGINAL PAPER

Exploring the social aspects of goose bumps and their rolein awe and envy

David R. Schurtz • Sarai Blincoe • Richard H. Smith •

Caitlin A. J. Powell • David J. Y. Combs •

Sung Hee Kim

Published online: 27 September 2011

� Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

Abstract Both awe and envy are emotions that can result

from observing a powerful other, but awe should stabilize

social hierarchies while envy should undermine them.

Three studies explored how the physiological reaction of

goose bumps might help in understanding these distinctive

reactions to powerful others, as goose bumps should be

associated with awe rather than envy. In Study 1, partici-

pants kept a four-week journal and made a detailed entry

each time they experienced goose bumps. Goose bumps

resulting from the emotion of awe were the second most

frequently occurring type after reactions to cold. Consistent

with understanding awe as an emotional reaction to pow-

erful or superior others (Keltner and Haidt in Cogn Emot

17:297–314, 2003), many of these experiences had social

triggers. In Study 2, accounts of goose bumps resulting

from exposure to powerful or superior others contained

greater awe than envy. Also, the intensity of goose bumps

was positively correlated with awe and negatively corre-

lated with envy. In Study 3, accounts of awe contained

more goose bumps than accounts of envy, and goose

bumps were positively correlated with awe.

Keywords Goose bumps � Envy � Awe � Social emotions

Introduction

A man exits a warm building on a winter night, and he feels

the hair on his arms stand on end. A boy scout hears the

growl of a bear in the woods, and his skin ‘‘crawls’’ with

fear. A concert-goer gets ‘‘chills’’ at the first bars of Bee-

thoven’s 5th Symphony. A woman hears a recording of

Martin Luther King Jr. and shivers with emotion. These

experiences share a common physiological response known

in everyday parlance as ‘‘goose bumps.’’

Goose bumps, or piloerection, occur when the muscles

underneath the skin contract making an animal’s hair stand

on end (Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary 2007).

They are useful for the survival of mammals by aiding in the

retention of body heat (Davenport 1992), which is the likely

cause in the example of the man leaving a warm building and

entering the cold outside. Research also links goose bumps to

the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (Janig

2007) and the fight or flight reaction that occurs when ani-

mals are startled (Darwin 1872a, b; Fridja 1986). This pro-

cess might explain the reaction felt by the boy scout hearing a

bear’s growl. Music is often linked with goose bumps (e.g.,

Goldstein 1980; Huron 2006; Konecni 2005; Konecni et al.

2007; Panksepp 1995; Sloboda 1991; Waterman 1996), and

it appears music can affect cerebral blood flow associated

with reward, motivation, emotion, and arousal correlated

with subjective reports of ‘‘shivers-down-the-spine,’’ sug-

gesting an explanation for the reaction to Beethoven’s 5th

symphony (Blood and Zatorre 2001). Another apparent link

with goose bumps, probably related in some way to the

previous two causes, though little-studied and little-under-

stood, is the emotion of ‘‘awe’’ (Ekman 2003; Keltner 2009;

Keltner and Haidt 2003; Shiota et al. 2007), which occurs

when people witness something grand, sublime, or extre-

mely powerful—such as a natural wonder, a perceived

D. R. Schurtz � S. Blincoe � R. H. Smith (&) � S. H. Kim

University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

e-mail: rhs.harry.smith@gmail.com

Present Address:D. R. Schurtz

Stevenson University, Stevenson, MD, USA

C. A. J. Powell

Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, GA, USA

D. J. Y. Combs

United States Navy, Arlington, VA, USA

123

Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217

DOI 10.1007/s11031-011-9243-8

experience of the divine, or an extraordinary human action.

Awe might capture best what happened in the fourth case of

goose bumps in which the woman experienced the eloquence

of Dr. King.

It is likely that most experiences of goose bumps fit into

the categories of reaction to cold, whether it is from walking

outside on a winter night or stepping into a cold shower.

Fear-associated goose bumps may also seem common at

least in people’s imagination of what a frightening situation

would be like, as suggested by the series of popular horror

books for children with Goosebumps as its leading title

(e.g., Stine 2005). Indeed, Darwin (1872b), reflecting on

these primitive reactions among humans and animals, spe-

cifically linked goose bumps to terror, fear, and anger.

Because such cases involving cold and fear are likely to

be the most frequent in people’s experience or most salient

in their conceptions of what causes goose bumps, there

may be tendency to think of goose bumps as only a reaction

to the elements or fear. In this sense, our experience of

goose bumps may seem little different from its expression

in a variety of mammals, including primates (Darwin

1872b; Muller and Mitani 2005), felines (Darwin 1872b;

Horwitz 2003), canines (Darwin 1872b), and mice

(Takahashi and Lore 1983). However, the link between

goose bumps with music and with awe hardly seems a trivial

one. For example, many people appear to use the fact that a

particular experience has ‘‘given them goose bumps’’ to

communicate the special, sometimes awe-like quality of

their experience—such as the man who was quoted on CNN

as saying, ‘‘Last night, I, like most Americans of all stripes,

watched with visible goose bumps as history was made’’

when Barack Obama claimed the nomination for the Dem-

ocratic Party for president of the United States in 2005

(Jakes 2008). Goose bumps are reactions over which people

appear to have little control, suggesting something authentic

as well as special, when awe is involved.

Witnessing something awe-inspiring as a cause of goose

bumps seems distinct from the other possible triggers. If

one considers the range of elaborate stimuli that can elicit

awe, from natural wonders to spiritual experiences, it

seems a much more complex experience than a reaction to

mere cold. Also, unlike reactions to cold, awe can be social

in origin, as in cases of witnessing extraordinary human

actions. The association of awe with social stimuli may be

due to its primordial foundations. As Keltner and Haidt

(2003) suggest, the origins of awe may center upon ‘‘the

emotional reaction of a subordinate to a powerful leader’’

(p. 306), which then forms the basis for awe as a general

reaction to other powerful and potentially dangerous

stimuli. Evolutionary perspectives highlight the adaptive

nature of social hierarchies (e.g., Barkow 1975; Boehm

1999; Fiske 1991; Haidt and Keltner 2001) and suggest that

there must be adaptive mechanisms to ensure sufficient

stability in such hierarchies. Arguably, one mechanism

should entail submissive responses from subordinate indi-

viduals when in the presence of those more powerful (e.g.

de Waal 1988; Gilbert 1992; Keltner and Portegal 1997).

Keltner and Haidt (2003) argue that this submissive

response has a biological component:

Much as humans are biologically prepared to respond

to certain fear inducing stimuli (e.g., fast approaching

objects, darkness), we argue that humans are prepared

to respond to awe-inducing stimuli (e.g., large stature

and displays of strength and confidence). From this

perspective, various components of the subordinate’s

response to the dominant individual, including pas-

sivity, heightened attention towards the powerful, and

imitation … are biologically based action tendencies

at the core of the experience of awe … (p. 306)

If awe is associated with a submissive response to a

powerful other, why would goose bumps further this

response? The erecting body hair that results from goose

bumps increases apparent body size and fighting strength

(at least in animals) which seems inconsistent with a sub-

missive response (e.g., Boehm 1999). Huron’s (2006)

analysis of goose bumps suggests an important distinction

between the initial reaction to the stimulus and the

appraisal following the reaction. In the case of awe, the

powerful other may create an initial reaction that is a blend

of fear, surprise, and defense, but which is displaced by a

positive appraisal, made even more positive by the contrast

from bad to good. Powerful others who create awe have the

capacity to harm, but, assuming a submissive response in

others, will not actually cause harm. The person feeling

awe may have an initial ‘‘fight’’ or defensive reaction, but

the subsequent appraisal averts these reactions and pre-

cludes a ‘‘flight’’ response as well. In fact, the initial goose

bumps may cause the final appraisal to lead to a markedly

intense, positive experience—through contrast.

Keltner and Haidt (2003) point out that awe is one of a

family of emotions that serve as psychological markers of a

person’s place in a social hierarchy. Just as there are

emotions (such as pride) felt when a person is in a domi-

nant position (e.g., Tracy and Robins 2007; Smith 2000;

Smith et al. 2006; Williams and DeSteno 2008, 2009),

there are also emotions felt by the subordinate person

toward someone who is dominant. Awe is a positive,

acquiescent emotional response. By contrast, envy is per-

haps the prototype of an oppositional, antagonistic reaction

to another’s superiority (e.g., Parrott and Smith 1993; Sa-

lovey and Rodin 1984; Smith 2008; Smith and Kim 2007).

How is envy different from awe more specifically? Envy

is the ‘‘unpleasant, often painful emotion characterized by

feelings of inferiority, hostility, and resentment produced

by an awareness of another person or group of persons who

206 Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217

123

enjoy a desired possession (object, social position, attribute,

or quality of being)’’ (Smith and Kim 2007, p. 47).

Although envy implies a recognition of something

impressive in the envied person, possibly something to fear

in some cases (e.g., Harris et al. 2008), the emotion does not

entail a deferential attitude; rather, it implies hostile feel-

ings and the potential for aggressive actions (e.g., Duffy and

Shaw 2000; Smith 2008; Smith et al. 1996; Smith and Kim

2007). It probably undermines social hierarchies rather than

stabilizes them (Hill and Buss 2008). In Shakespeare’s

Julius Caesar, the envious Cassius convinces Brutus to join

the conspiracy against Caesar in part by warning Brutus

against feeling awe towards Caesar (Shakespeare 1599/

1934). Awe would obviate invidious hostility.

Envy is a prevalent emotion and probably serves or has

served an adaptive function in its own right (Hill and Buss

2008; Smith and Kim 2007). It is unlikely that perpetually

submissive reactions to another person’s superiority

advance reproductive fitness or daily survival. However,

acting on one’s envy has associated risks. Few cultures

encourage envy, much less acting on envy. Envious people

are both feared and disliked (Smith and Kim 2007). Also,

the envied person may retaliate against the threat posed by

one’s envy. The capacity for people to feel either awe or

envy suggests that a certain flexibility in emotional reac-

tions to superior, more powerful others should provide an

evolutionary advantage. The emotion of awe may serve to

preclude or hold back the envy response or transform it into

something less antagonistic, when it is adaptive to do so.

The association of awe with goose bumps, which is

quick, noticeable, and perhaps linked with some form of

primordial fear, may be an effective signal that another

person’s superiority might best be considered with caution.

Further appraisal might then enhance a positive contrastive

reaction, as the potential threat is deemed unwarranted,

assuming one demonstrates a submissive attitude. When

we feel awe, it is likely that the quick physiological

response of goose bumps (and the awareness of this

response) is often a key piece of initial information that

denotes that the unfolding emotion episode is categorically

distinct from something invidious and antagonistic. Ulti-

mately, the appraisal process can lead to positively-expe-

rienced wonder, respect, and a general attitude of deference

to the powerful other’s wishes (i.e., awe) rather than an

envy-inspired motivation to usurp or undermine the hier-

archical status quo. The latter course may be more likely in

the absence of goose bumps.

Study 1

In our initial study, we collected accounts of participants’

experiences of goose bumps over a four-week period.

Although we were most interested in assessing the fre-

quency and types of awe reported (and a contrasting

absence of experience of envy), we also had the more

general goal of assessing how frequently people experi-

enced goose bumps and why. To our knowledge, aside

from a pioneering study by Goldstein (1980) on ‘‘thrills’’ in

response to music and other stimuli, there is no research

examining either of these questions. Goldstein’s study

entailed three groups of participants. The first two groups

(employees of an Addiction Research Center or medical

students) were given unstructured questionnaires and asked

to describe situations in which they had experienced thrills.

Based on their responses a checklist was developed for a

third group of participants, music students, who indicated

how readily each stimulus caused thrills for them. Gold-

stein reported that 53, 80, and 90% of each group,

respectively indicated that they had experienced thrills. On

average, they were experienced ‘‘once or twice a week.’’

Music was the most frequently noted stimulus in the first

two groups, though the exact percentage of participants

indicating this was neither reported nor was the content of

the other experiences. In response to the checklist, a wide

variety of stimuli was rated by the music students, from

‘‘musical passages’’ (96% indicating an experience), to a

‘‘scene in a movie, play, ballet, or book’’ (92%) to ‘‘seeing

or reading about something heroic’’ (59%) to a ‘‘particular

fragrance’’ (39%).

Goldstein’s study relied on retrospective accounts and

appeared to constrain participants’ reports to experiences

other than cold or fear. Possibly, using music students as

the third group may have encouraged the reporting of

experiences with music. Also, the percentages did not

appear to reflect actual frequencies, but rather whether or

not the stimulus had ever created thrills. We were able

to build on this initial research by obtaining reports of

any instances of goose bumps across a 4 week period.

We expected most, if not all, participants would report

an experience of goose bumps, but we were less sure

about how frequently each person would experience

them. Aside from the categories of cold (caused, for

example, by getting into a cold shower), overall, we

expected a comparatively low base-rate for other causes.

Nonetheless, given prior research by Keltner and Haidt

(2003), we expected a significant proportion of accounts

to have social triggers and for these to fit in the category

of awe experiences. Although fear is commonly associ-

ated with goose bumps, we reasoned that most people

infrequently encounter fear-inducing situation in their

daily lives, and this would be reflected in a low fre-

quency of reported cases. Based on Goldstein’s findings,

we expected that a sizeable number of experiences

would involve music. Finally, we expected few accounts

would involve envy.

Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217 207

123

Method

Participants

Ninety-three undergraduate students from the University of

Kentucky participated in this study; 87 (27 males, 60

females) received partial credit toward a research require-

ment for an introductory psychology class and 6 (all

females) were volunteers from an introductory social psy-

chology class.

Materials and procedure

Participants from the introductory psychology class regis-

tered online for a five-session experiment consisting of an

orientation session and four follow-up sessions, one per

week over the four consecutive weeks following the ori-

entation. Each session comprised about 12 students and

occurred in a classroom. Participants from the social psy-

chology class, which met once weekly, participated in the

experiment during the first 5 min of five successive classes.

The instructor for the course was not present during these

short sessions and was unaware of who participated in

the study. In the orientation session, the experimenter

instructed participants to keep a packet of questionnaires

with them over the next 4 weeks and to make a short note

each time they experienced goose bumps. A questionnaire

packet contained a page with the instructions, including a

definition of goose bumps (‘‘when the skin on your body

tightens and your hair on your arms, neck, etc. becomes

erect.’’), a set of 7 one-page questionnaires for recording

each instance of goose bumps, and contact information for

the experimenter should a problem or question arise. Each

recording sheet contained two five-point Likert items

assessing the intensity of the experience (0 = not at all,

4 = extremely intense) and perceived control over the

experience (0 = no control at all, 4 = a great deal of

control) and a space to describe what triggered the expe-

rience.1 Participants were asked to keep the forms on or

near them at all times and to make a new entry on a fresh

page every time they experienced goose bumps. It was

stressed to participants that they should complete the

recording as soon as they experienced each reaction.

Furthermore, they were told that they would not be

penalized in any way if they did not experience goose

bumps during the course of the study. Every week partic-

ipants returned to the lab individually, at the same time of

day and day of the week, to exchange their old question-

naires for new ones and ask questions of the experimenter,

if they had any. When participants requested additional

diary pages, they were e-mailed to them immediately;

additional hard copies were posted outside the experi-

menter’s office. At the final session, the last set of ques-

tionnaires was collected and participants were debriefed.

Results

Frequency of goose bumps

Over the 4 weeks participants reported 1015 total experi-

ences of goose bumps (Week 1 = 366, Week 2 = 271,

Week 3 = 230, Week 4 = 178). Of the 93 participants

(Week 1, n = 93; Week 2, n = 84; Week 3, n = 78; Week

4, n = 72), all reported at least one experience (the mean

total of goose bumps experiences per person per week was

3.17, SD = 2.92; mode = 2.0; median = 2.0). The lower

and upper range of experiences for a week was 0–28

experiences.

Likert items for control and intensity of goose bumps

Goose bumps as a whole were described as an uncontrol-

lable reaction to a stimulus (M = 0.86, SD = 1.03)

(0 = no control at all; 4 = a great deal of control). The

intensity (0 = not at all; 4 = extremely intense) of the

goose bumps was reported as moderate (M = 2.67,

SD = 0.94). There were no difference in controllability

and intensity when comparing different categories of goose

bumps (see descriptions of categories below).

Coding and description of written accounts

Three coders, blind to the goals of the research, coded the

written accounts to gauge the cause of each. As this study

marked the first attempt to collect accounts of goose bumps

in humans over a period of time, we decided to take a fine-

grained approach to our coding definitions. Based on the

existing scholarly work on goose bumps as well as pilot

data in which a group of participants recalled experiences

of goose bumps, we created 15 possible categories of goose

bumps triggers. Coders were provided a detailed definition

of each category (see examples below) and made their best

judgment on what single category the account fit best.

Overall, there was 88% agreement among the coders across

all the coding categories, with disagreement resolved by a

fourth coder.

1 For exploratory purposes, we also included additional items

assessing other aspects of the experience. Participants could check

of one or more possible causes of the goose bump reaction, including

‘‘something cold,’’ ‘‘music,’’ or ‘‘something awe-inspiring.’’ But

many participants did not complete these items. For purposes of

coding the cause of the goose bumps, coders relied solely on the

written descriptions. Participants were also asked to rate the extent to

which they felt each of 18 affective states, including superiority,

contempt, envy, and awe. Most participants rated their experience of

each emotion as 0, not experienced at all, thus no further analyses

of these variables were conducted.

208 Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217

123

As expected, the most common category of goose

bumps was reaction to cold temperatures (defined as: the

person was exposed to a cold climate or environment),

60%. The second most common cause of goose bumps was

awe (defined as: the person felt serenity or wonder when

looking at, hearing, smelling, feeling, or tasting something

or someone. The person felt good about the experience.

The person was ‘‘blown away’’ cognitively by the experi-

ence. The person felt small or insignificant compared to the

object, person or event.), 13.5%.2 Fear was the third most

frequent category (defined as: the person was afraid. The

person felt unpleasant surprise), 4.8%. The fourth most

common category was physiological ‘‘other’’ (defined as:

the person sneezed, coughed, yawned, or was in the process

of some other biological function when they had a goose

bumps experience. The person was experiencing a fever, or

having a fever break, or was vomiting), 4.7%. Other cat-

egories each accounted for less than 4% (for a complete

illustration of all the categories, see Table 1). Surprisingly,

given the strong associations for the lay person between

awe and religious experience, only 1.60% of narratives

were coded as being caused by a religious or supernatural

experience (defined as: the person experienced an interac-

tion or contact with or presence of God, an angel, ghost, or

other supernatural being). Envy was also a possible goose

bumps trigger category, but no accounts mentioned envy as

the specific trigger of a goose bumps event.

Additional coding of awe accounts

In order to provide a more complete understanding of what

triggered the experiences of awe, the same group of coders

placed each narrative for which awe was the coded cause

into one of four distinct subcategories. The most common

trigger of awe related to goose bumps (46.1%) was directly

social awe (defined as: an awe reaction that occurred when

thinking about or perceiving another person or another

person’s abilities, skills, or talents). Within this subcate-

gory, there was a wide variety of accounts. For example,

one student wrote about exposure to a successful leader and

speaker: ‘‘During my psychology class, John Calipari, who

is the men’s basketball coach, came in and gave a speech.

I’ve never met a guy who has so much confidence and

positivity. He was an amazing speaker.’’ An example of

another type was an unexpected act of kindness performed

by another person, ‘‘My friend (roommate) noticed that I

was feeling down about going home. When I can home one

day, she had posted inspirational quotes on my bedroom

wall.’’ The one thing all these accounts had in common

was a focus on another individual’s behavior, traits, or

Table 1 Category, example, frequency and rank of goose bumps

triggers in Study 1

Cause Example (s) Relative

frequency

(%)

Ordinal

rank

Cold Stepping into a cold

shower or a cold room

60.00 1

Awe 13.50 2

Directly social Hearing an eloquent

speech, thinking about a

remarkable person

46.10

Aesthetic Listening to inspiring or

intense music, viewing a

work of art

44.00

Nature Seeing a beautiful sunset 2.80

Undifferentiated Sense of wonder or

serenity but difficult to

define

7.10

Fear Watching a horror film or

someone sneaking up on

the person from behind

4.80 3

Other

physiological

Sneezing, coughing, or

other bodily functions

4.70 4

Romance/lust Being told I love you,

kissing, or other

romantic contact

3.30 5

Uncodeable There is no paragraph

provided or the

paragraph has no

codable information

(e.g. I had goose bumps)

3.20 6

General positive

affect

The participant says they

were happy, excited or

pleased

2.50 7

General negative

affect

The participant says they

were sad, upset or

disappointed

2.10 8

Religious/

supernatural

An interaction with God,

an angel or ghost

1.60 9

Disgust Seeing a dead animal,

graphic and upsetting

picture, hearing

something that was

morally reprehensible

1.40 10

Illness A fever, vomiting,

attribution to the flu or

another disease

1.10 11

Anger Wanting to fight another

person or statements of

injustice about a

situation

0.70 12

Pride The participant won an

award, received praise,

or accomplished

something

0.30 13

Surprise Shock as a result of an

unexpected situation or

event

0.30 13

2 The definition of awe was based on Keltner and Haidt’s (2003)

theoretical perspective.

Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217 209

123

performance and something that was extraordinary about

that person which directly triggered a strong subjectively

pleasant, emotional reaction in the individual.

The second most common category of awe (44%) was

associated with exposure to what we label aesthetic awe.

This category was defined as: an awe reaction that occurred

when the person was seeing, listening, or in some other

way perceiving something that was created by a human

being. Specifically, this category encompassed goose bump

reactions to aspects of a product of human ability, rather

than a reaction to the actual ability or performance, and

thus the experiences within this category can be described

as indirectly social. The majority of these accounts (80%)

described a reaction to an aspect of music, including lyrics,

specific notes, chords, or movements, and rhythms. The

musical pieces that inspired the goose bumps were fre-

quently described as ‘‘intense’’ or ‘‘inspirational.’’ For

instance, one student wrote: ‘‘song ‘Run This Town’ by Jay

Z. Rihanna’s opening part gave me goose bumps.’’ The

remaining accounts in this category described responses to

visual arts (e.g., a movie trailer with special effects, a

realistic drawing) or pieces of writing (e.g., a well-written,

personally relevant news article).

A third category (2.8%) was awe as a result of exposure

to nature (defined as: The person felt serenity or wonder

when looking at, hearing, smelling, feeling, or tasting

something occurring in nature). A final category (7.1%)

entailed awe responses that involved a sense of serenity or

wonder but proved difficult to further define in terms of the

other subcategories, or, ‘‘undifferentiated awe.’’

Discussion

Study 1 produced a number of useful findings. Goose

bumps do appear to be reactions that most people experi-

ence. These experiences occur about two times per week

for our participants and thus appear even more prevalent

than suggested by Goldstein’s (1980) findings, although

this may be because his research examined a narrower

range of triggers. These data support the hypothesis that

goose bumps are a primordial response to a number of

different stimuli, though, at least for the average American

college student they are not quite an everyday experience.

The results of this study also suggest that goose bumps

share a relationship with the emotion of awe and not with

the emotion of envy. Awe was seen as the second most

common trigger of the goose bumps (after cold reactions)

and was attributed as the cause of 13.5% of all the cases

reported by the participants. Indeed, if one removes all

cases of the comparatively mundane instances of goose

bumps caused by cold, 33.75% of the remaining cases were

awe-related, suggesting that goose bumps have an espe-

cially important link to the emotion of awe.

Within the awe category, another important pattern

emerged. Almost half of the triggers of awe were directly

social (stimuli that were an express result of appreciating

another person’s traits, actions, or performance: 46.1%).

Another 44% could be considered indirectly social because

the aesthetic stimuli (music, art, videos) that triggered the

goose bumps were created by or linked to another person,

thereby influencing the nature of the reaction to the stimuli.

This pattern, especially the high percentage of directly

social instances, is consistent with Keltner and Haidt’s

(2003) suggestion that awe may have origins in primordial

reaction to powerful others. That these experiences were

linked with goose bumps, a reaction over which people

appear to have low control, also suggests a primordial

function for this emotion.

As we anticipated, the frequency of fear-caused goose

bumps was low, despite commonly held beliefs about fear

being a common cause of goose bumps. The reasons for

this may be two fold. First, in modern times people can

avoid fear-inducing situations that would trigger goose

bumps. Countering this tendency might be that frightening

situations, when they do occur, stand out in memory more

than some other situations. This might make them seem

more prevalent. However, our diary methodology would

probably rule out this particular bias, thus suggesting a

second reason why fear-caused instances of goose bumps

were infrequent: fear-caused goose bumps may simply be

uncommon in everyday life—at least for American college

students. A generally similar logic might explain why

nature-caused or religious/supernaturally caused goose

bumps were uncommon. We may not actively avoid nature

or events and activities of a spiritual nature, but everyday

life may fail to provide these opportunities in appreciable

number.

Study 2

Study 1 revealed a frequent link between goose bumps and

social stimuli as well as awe. Again, this pattern is con-

sistent with Keltner and Haidt’s (2003) suggestion that a

particular kind of social stimulus, a powerful other, is the

primordial trigger of awe. The main purpose of Study 2

Table 1 continued

Cause Example (s) Relative

frequency

(%)

Ordinal

rank

Envy Discontent as a result of

others’ desired

possession or status

0.00 14

210 Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217

123

was to explore further the relationship between goose

bumps and social stimuli and to assess more fully its

association with the two contrasting emotions of awe and

envy. As noted earlier, envy is clearly linked to a superior,

often more powerful other, and in this sense one might

expect it to be associated with goose bumps. Also, to the

extent that an envied, powerful other is feared, then goose

bumps might be linked with envy for this reason as well.

However, if one understands goose bumps to help initiate a

more approving, submissive response to superiority in

others, then goose bumps might be negatively associated

with envy. In Study 2, participants recalled occasions in

which another person’s superiority caused them to feel

goose bumps. Then they indicated the degree to which they

felt goose bumps, as well as how much awe and envy they

experienced. We expected that participants would be more

likely to report feeling awe rather than envy during their

goose bumps experiences. We also expected that the degree

of participants’ reports of goose bumps would be positively

correlated with awe but not correlated, perhaps negatively

correlated, with envy.

We also examined a number of secondary hypotheses

derived from Keltner and Haidt’s (2003) analysis of awe.

Keltner and Haidt argue that persons or things that create

awe should have two characteristics. The first is vastness,

which refers to the breadth of power or size embodied by

the person, object, or event. The second is that the per-

ception of the person, object, or event creates a ‘‘need for

accommodation’’ in the person experiencing the emotion.

People experience this need when they are exposed to

stimuli that cannot be easily accommodated in existing

schemas (Markus 1977). If the emotion-inducing stimulus

has features that make it difficult to accommodate, this,

combined with vastness, should produce awe. We included

items in the questionnaire assessing vastness and a need to

accommodate; these items were written to capture specif-

ically vastness and accommodation in a social context,

rather than a more physical dimension. We expected both

vastness and accommodation to correlate positively with

reports of awe and of goose bumps. We anticipated a dif-

ferent pattern of correlations with envy. We expected

vastness to correlate positively with envy, as it is spurred

by the superiority of another person even more than is awe,

but we expected need for accommodation to be negatively

correlated with envy. Generally, envy should follow from

forms of superiority with which we are familiar; we know

exactly what the other person has or can do that makes us

envious. It is partly this familiarity that should make the

desire for what is lacked so palpable (Elster 1998). Finally,

we also included items measuring fearful reactions. Unlike

in Study 1, we attempted to create items assessing a form

of fear more specifically associated with reactions to a

powerful, respected other.

Method

Participants

Forty undergraduate students (32 females and 8 males)

from the University of Kentucky participated and received

partial credit towards fulfillment of a research requirement.

Procedure

Participants were asked to recall an occasion in which they

experienced goose bumps as a result of another person’s

‘‘superior power, or superior abilities or talents, or

extraordinary actions, or great advantage over you.’’ After

participants recalled the memory, they were asked to take a

few minutes to describe their experience in writing. They

then completed a questionnaire about their experience.

Measures

Participants responded to items assessing their emotional

reactions to the situation, their perceptions of the situation,

and their perceptions of the other person involved in the

event. Participants were asked to what degree they agreed

or disagreed with each item (1 = strongly disagree to

7 = strongly agree).

To test our primary hypotheses that goose bumps would

be positively correlated with awe and negatively correlated

with envy, we used single items to measure awe (‘‘You felt

awe’’), envy (‘‘You were envious of the person’’), and the

degree or intensity of goose bumps (‘‘You felt goose

bumps’’).

To assess our secondary hypotheses, five items were

averaged together to assess vastness (e.g., ‘‘The person

seemed ‘larger than life’,’’ ‘‘You felt ‘small’ or insignif-

icant compared to the person,’’ ‘‘The person seemed to

have qualities that were beyond measure,’’ ‘‘The person

was so very remarkable that he or she seemed to be in a

different category compared to yourself’’ and ‘‘The person

had a physical presence that was remarkable’’), Cron-

bach’s a = 0.73, and three items were averaged together

to assess need for accommodation (e.g., ‘‘It is hard to

understand how the person could act the way they did,’’

‘‘You felt confused or bewildered by the person’s quali-

ties,’’ and ‘‘It is difficult to understand how the person

could act the way they did’’), Cronbach’s a = 0.75.

Finally, three items were averaged together to assess the

type of fear that might be associated with awe (e.g., ‘‘You

felt you had to be careful around the person,’’ ‘‘You felt

you should do what the person wanted,’’ and ‘‘You felt a

mixture of respect and fear toward the person’’), Cron-

bach’s a = 0.75.

Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217 211

123

Results

Overall, participants reported experiencing intense goose

bumps (M = 6.17, SD = 1.02). We expected that an

upward social comparison containing goose bumps would

contain more awe than envy. As expected, a paired samples

t test revealed that participants experienced greater awe

(M = 4.38, SD = 2.31) than envy (M = 2.74, SD =

2.14), t(38) = 3.65, p \ 0.01, r = 0.51. We used linear

regression to examine the intensity of goose bumps as a

predictor of the degree to which participants report feeling

awe and envy. Goosebumps predicted an increase in feel-

ings of awe, b = 0.32, p = 0.05, R2 = 0.10 but decreases

in feelings of envy, b = -0.37, p = .02, R2 = 0.13. Sur-

prisingly, fear was negatively correlated with goose bumps,

r (37) = -0.41, p \ 0.05. A complete set of correlations is

reported in Table 2.

Multiple regression was used to test the theorized

associations between vastness, need for accommodation,

fear, and awe. Vastness, accommodation, and fear were

entered simultaneously into a model predicting awe,

R = 0.69 and adjusted R2 = 0.43. Increased feelings of

awe were predicted by increased ratings of vastness,

b = 0.57, p \ 0.01 and decreased feelings of fear, b =

-0.32, p = 0.03. With fear and vastness held constant,

need for accommodation was not a significant predictor of

awe, b = -0.14, p = 0.30. Our secondary hypotheses

regarding the characteristics of awe were partially sup-

ported. Perceptions of vastness were positively related to

awe but need for accommodation was not significantly

associated with awe.

Multiple regression was also used to test a set of

predictions for the relations between envy and vastness,

accommodation, and fear. Envy was expected to correlate

positively with vastness but negatively with accommo-

dation. A model with vastness, accommodation, and fear

predicting envy was significant, R = 0.46, adjusted

R2 = 0.14. Vastness did predict envy, b = 0.41,

p = 0.01, but neither accommodation, b = -0.12, p =

0.48, nor fear, b = 0.14, p = 0.40, was significant pre-

dictors of envy. Thus, our hypotheses were again partially

supported.

Discussion

Participants recalled an experience in which their per-

ception of another person’s superiority or power created

goose bumps. As expected, even though these experiences

involved another person’s superiority, it was more com-

mon for participants to report experiencing awe than of

envy. Envy is perhaps the prototypical emotional reaction

to another person’s superiority (Smith and Kim 2007), but

when this superiority is accompanied by goose bumps,

envy seems unlikely. Also as expected, the degree of

feeling goose bumps positively predicted feelings of awe,

but negatively predicted feelings of envy. These findings

support a key finding of Study 1, namely, that goose

bumps can have strong connections to social stimuli and

that goose bumps are more likely to be associated with

favorable emotional reactions to others such as awe,

which Keltner and Haidt (2003) posit as functioning to

promote submissive, accepting reactions to powerful

others. Thus, goose bumps seem to be a clear marker of

some form of approving reaction to another person’s

superiority and the antithesis of hostile reactions such as

envy.

Of the two predictors of awe posited by Keltner and

Haidt, perception of vastness and a need for accommoda-

tion, only vastness was positively correlated with awe.

Need for accommodation was negatively correlated with

awe, suggesting that awe is more associated with clarity

and familiarity rather than novelty, at least with regards to

social stimuli (as opposed to non-social stimuli such as

natural ‘‘wonders’’). Envy was also positively correlated

with vastness and had no relationship with the need for

accommodation. In short, some sense of vastness appears

linked with the arousal of envy.

Participants’ reports of goose bumps were not associated

with increased fear. This occurred even though we included

measures of fear tailored to the kind of fear we thought

would more likely be associated with reactions to powerful

others. In fact, this measure was negatively correlated with

goose bumps and marginally so with awe. As Keltner and

Haidt (2003) suggest, the fear component of reactions to

powerful others is less likely in contemporary experiences.

Table 2 Correlations between

degree of goose bumps, awe,

envy and other measures

(Study 2)

M p \ .10, * p \ .05,

** p \ .01

Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Goose bumps 6.17 1.02 –

2. Awe 4.38 2.31 0.32* –

3. Vastness 4.45 1.49 -0.07 0.47** –

4. Accommodation 3.14 1.60 -0.10 -0.38* 0.01 –

5. Envy 2.74 2.14 -0.37* 0.25 0.37* -0.13 –

6. Fear 3.69 1.60 -0.41* -0.30M 0.23 0.45** -0.002 –

212 Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217

123

Goose bumps in humans may be less associated with

submission to threatening, higher-ranking members of

one’s group and, instead, serve as a marker of an intense,

but accepting, upward social comparison emotion, unal-

loyed with fear or submissiveness. Because goose bumps

are ordinarily assumed to be linked with fear, this suggests

a strikingly distinct function for goose bumps with regard

to awe-related reactions to social stimuli. Whatever it is

about awe-related, social stimuli that lead to goose bumps,

it does not appear to be a function of fear (at least in the

usual way we think of fear).

Study 3

In Study 2, participants were not asked to think of a time

when they felt awe. Although participants reported feeling

awe in association with goose bumps, overall, these

accounts may have been less intense than prototypical

cases of awe. Also, in Study 2, participants were not asked

to recall an experience of envy, which may have led par-

ticipants to remember events that were less prototypical

cases of envy as well. We conducted a third study in which

we explicitly asked participants to recall a time when they

experienced awe or a time when they experienced envy and

then measured reports of experiencing goose bumps in

response to this event. We expected experiences of awe to

contain greater reports of goose bumps than experiences of

envy. We also expected that asking participants to recall an

experience of awe might lead to a better test of some of our

secondary predictions about other components of awe and

of envy.

Method

Participants

Seventy-six undergraduate students (48 females and 28

males) from the University of Kentucky participated in this

study. They received partial credit towards the fulfillment

of a research participation credit.

Procedure

Participants were randomly assigned to recall a memory

when they felt an intense sense of awe or of envy because

of another person’s superior power, talent, ability, or

behavior. After writing a brief description of the memory,

they completed a questionnaire containing the same mea-

sures used in Study 2. For the fear, vastness, and accom-

modation scales, Cronbach’s alphas were 0.59, 0.75, and

0.67, respectively.

Results

Manipulation check

Participants in the awe condition reported higher levels of

awe (M = 6.24, SD = 1.17) than participants in the envy

condition (M = 2.74, SD = 2.01), t(74) = 9.27, p \ .01,

r = 0.73. Participants in the envy condition reported higher

levels of envy (M = 5.50, SD = 1.69) than participants in

the awe condition (M = 4.42, SD = 2.26), t(74) = 2.36,

p \ .05, r = 0.26.

Analysis of goose bumps

As expected, participants in the awe condition were more

likely to report goose bumps (M = 4.21, SD = 2.02) than

participants in the envy condition (M = 2.00, SD = 1.59),

t(74) = 5.30, p \ .05, r = 0.52. As in Study 2, awe was

also positively correlated with the degree or intensity of

goose bumps, r (76) = 0.46, p \ 0.05. However, unlike in

Study 2, there was not a significant negative correlation

between envy and goose bumps.

Additional analyses

We also performed t tests to test our secondary measures.

Vastness (M = 4.70, SD = 1.55) was significantly greater

in the awe condition compared to the envy condition

(M = 3.73, SD = 1.77), t (74) = 2.49, p \ .05, r = 0.28.

There were no significant differences between the two

conditions for need for accommodation, (M for envy con-

dition = 3.52, SD = 1.51; M for awe condition = 3.05,

SD = 1.52) or fear (M for envy condition = 2.80, SD =

1.24; M for awe condition = 2.77, SD = 1.50).

Finally, we examined the correlations between all the

measures (see Table 3). As in Study 2 vastness was posi-

tively correlated with both awe, r (76) = 0.55, p \ .01,

and envy, r (76) = 0.25, p \ .05. Unlike Study 2, it was

also positively correlated with goose bumps, r (76) = 0.48,

p \ .05. Need for accommodation and fear were not sig-

nificantly correlated with any measures.

Discussion

The results of Study 3 are generally consistent with those

that emerged in Study 2. Importantly, participants recalling

an experience of awe were more likely to report goose

bumps than those recalling an experience of envy. Fur-

thermore, overall, the degree of awe reported was posi-

tively correlated with the degree of goose bumps reported,

whereas there was no correlation between envy and goose

bumps. Although this latter finding did not replicate the

significant negative correlation between goose bumps and

Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217 213

123

envy found in Study 2, the results of both studies indicate

that goose bumps appear connected with the experience of

awe and incompatible with the experience of envy. In

Study 2, we did not explicitly ask for experiences of either

awe or envy. We speculated that this method might have

produced less intense experiences than explicitly asking for

intense accounts of each emotion. This appears to have

been the case, as the mean for awe increased by 1.86 and

the mean for envy increased by 2.76 from Study 2 to Study

3. As one would expect, the level of goose bumps in

Study 3 (awe, M = 4.21; envy, M = 2.00) was less than in

Study 2 (M = 6.17), as participants were not asked to

recall an experience of goose bumps in Study 3. Thus, the

general pattern of associations between goose bumps and

the two emotions held despite the apparent increase in

average intensity of participants’ reported experiences of

awe and of envy and the apparent decrease in average

intensity of goose bumps.

As in Study 2, perceptions of vastness was positively

correlated with both awe and envy, once again suggesting

that some perception of vastness can be an important fea-

ture of social objects that arouse both of these emotions. In

Study 2, need for accommodation was negatively corre-

lated with awe (r = -. 38, p \ .05), but marginally so in

Study 3 (r = -0.21, p \ .10). As in Study 2, need for

accommodation showed no relationship with envy. Thus, at

least for social objects, clarity of and familiarity with the

ingredients of the other person’s superiority is not clearly

linked to either emotion. Finally, in Study 2, our measure

of fear was negatively associated with goose bumps and

positively correlated with need for accommodation. How-

ever, in Study 3, fear proved unrelated to any of the

measures. The low reliability for the fear scale may con-

tribute to the lack of significant correlations. We should be

hesitant, at this stage, to suggest that fear relates in a

straightforward way to goose bumps, awe, or the charac-

teristics of awe (vastness and need for accommodation).

General discussion

The phenomenon of goose bumps has been studied in terms

of its occurring in response to cold or fear, (Darwin 1872b;

Davenport 1992; Roze et al. 2000) and music (e.g., Blood

and Zatorre 2001; Goldstein 1980; Konecni et al. 2007),

but many basic questions about how frequently and why

people feel goose bumps remain unexamined. Goose

bumps in response to social stimuli are poorly understood,

for example, even though anecdotal evidence suggests that

these experiences can represent especially important ones

for people. The results of Study 1, first of all, show that

goose bumps are indeed reactions that almost anyone is

likely to experience, about twice per week on average. Not

surprisingly, most of these experiences will be triggered by

cold. However, a sizeable minority of these experiences is

likely to be awe-related and to have either a direct or,

arguably, indirect social triggers. This fits Keltner and

Haidt’s (2003) speculations about the ‘‘primordial’’ origins

of awe being the emotional reaction of a subordinate to a

powerful leader—which then underlies reactions to other

powerful stimuli.

Goose bumps and fear

Fear, measured using items such as ‘‘you felt you had to be

careful around the person’’ (Studies 2 and 3), was not asso-

ciated with either increased goose bumps or increased awe.

In fact, in Study 2, it was negatively correlated with goose

bumps and marginally so with awe. This is an intriguing

pattern of findings, especially given the strong, typical

association of goose bumps with fear and the possible link of

awe with the ‘‘primordial’’ response to a powerful, possibly

dangerous other. However, it is quite consistent with Keltner

and Haidt’s (2003) thinking that present examples of expo-

sure to powerful superior others are unlikely to have a fear

component, even though such exposure can nonetheless

create awe. In present day contexts, power and superiority in

others can create goose bumps, but they may rarely create

fear when they do so. In fact, when they create goose bumps,

it appears that the more pleasant experience of awe is the

likely co-occurring result.

Goose bumps and envy

If power and superiority create an unpleasant experience,

they may be more likely to lead to envy rather than fear.

Table 3 Correlations between

goose bumps, awe, envy and

other measures (Study 3)

M p \ .10, * p \ .05,

** p \ .01

Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Goose bumps 3.11 2.12 –

2. Awe 4.49 2.40 0.46** –

3. Vastness 4.22 1.72 0.48** 0.55** –

4. Accommodation 3.28 1.52 0.17 -0.21M 0.15 –

5. Envy 4.96 2.06 -0.05 -0.03 0.25* 0.13 –

6. Fear 2.79 1.37 0.04 0.11 0.15 0.21M 0.03 –

214 Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217

123

Furthermore, the results of Studies 2 and 3 suggest that

envy appears to be antithetical to creating goose bumps. As

noted earlier, although submissive responses to powerful

others may be adaptive in many situations, assertive

emotional reactions are likely to be adaptive in other sit-

uations (e.g., Hill and Buss 2008). In these latter situations,

envy rather than awe might be the more adaptive emotional

response. Again, this way of thinking suggests that goose

bumps should be associated with awe and not with envy. In

Study 2 where participants were asked to think about a

situation in which a superior other caused them to feel

goose bumps, reports of awe were greater than reports of

envy. Also, the degree of participants’ goose bumps was

positively correlated with awe and negatively correlated

with envy. In Study 3 where participants recalled either

experiences of awe or experience of envy, reports of goose

bumps were much higher in awe experiences compared

with envy experiences. In addition, overall, the intensity of

goose bumps was positively correlated with awe and

uncorrelated with envy.

Vastness and need for accommodation

The results of these three studies provide additional

insights into the nature of awe, at least with regard to

people’s reactions to social objects (Shiota et al. 2007). As

alluded to earlier, Keltner and Haidt (2003) reason that awe

may be linked with vastness and a need for accommoda-

tion. Our findings clearly support linking vastness to awe.

Something unusual, exceptional, and ‘‘larger than life’’

seems important for an event to create awe. The findings

for need for accommodation were unsupportive. In fact,

awe tended to be negatively correlated with the need for

accommodation, indicating that participant’s familiarity

with the event was more important for triggering the

emotion. Perhaps need for accommodation is less relevant

for social objects than non-social objects. Another possi-

bility is that our measure of need for accommodation failed

to capture the construct. We used items such as ‘‘It was

hard to understand the person’s behavior.’’ The construct

has a somewhat ineffable quality to it, and these items may

not do it justice.

Envy was also consistently linked with vastness, a

finding that we had expected. Some sort of noticeable,

sometimes extraordinary feature in a social object is cer-

tainly a likely basis for an invidious social comparison.

Possibly, small differences between people can create envy

(Freud 1929/2005) and big discrepancies might lead to a

reduction in the perceived relevance of a social comparison

(Alicke et al. 1997). Nonetheless, a difference of some sort

seems a necessary condition for envy to arise. The link

found between vastness and envy supports this straight-

forward view.

Limitations

One limitation of this research is that we only used Amer-

ican college samples. In Study 1 this probably reduced the

likelihood that our participants would have placed them-

selves in situations where goose bumps would be induced

by fear and nature. Research using other samples is needed

to have a more complete sense of the frequency of various

triggers of goose bumps. However, our main goal was not so

much to show that one type of trigger of goose bumps was

more prevalent than another; rather, our main goal was to

show that awe might be a common feature of goose bumps

and that the stimulus for the experience might often be

social in nature.

Another limitation is that we did not actually cause our

participants to get goose bumps. However, creating goose

bumps in laboratory situations, especially in reaction to

instances having social causes, presents considerable

challenges. There appears to be particularly high variability

in the stimuli that reliably create goose bumps in people.

For some, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches may be the

trigger, but for others, it may be the remarkable perfor-

mance of a favorite singer. Selecting stimuli that match

participants’ idiosyncratic requirements for experiencing

goose bumps is a difficult task. Within the music category,

for example, a goose bumps reaction was attributed to such

varied styles as marching band arrangements, worship

music, and Metallica. However, there is reason to assume

that remembered accounts of goose bumps have some

useful characteristics as an approach to studying goose

bumps. Unlike reports of many other experiences, people

know plainly when they are experiencing goose bumps.

This is because goose bumps are defined by clear and

specific physiological changes. It is therefore highly likely

that our participants were reporting actual experiences of

goose bumps, especially in Study 1 which used the diary

methodology, but also in Studies 2 and 3. Nonetheless,

future research would benefit from methods that create

experiences of goose bumps in controlled, laboratory

settings.

Conclusion

People may typically think of cold and fear when they

think of situations most associated with goose bumps. The

present studies suggest that goose bumps also have an

interesting and important connection with social stimuli

and the emotion of awe. As Keltner and Haidt (2003)

argue, the origins of awe may evolve from an adaptive,

submissive emotional response to a powerful other. Con-

sistent with this view, our findings indicated that goose

bumps in response to another person’s superiority were

Motiv Emot (2012) 36:205–217 215

123

positively associated with awe and generally incompatible

with the more assertive emotional reaction of envy.

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