What causes earworms?

[raccoon]

Last week I had "Runaway" by Del Shannon (at least it was a good song!) in my head for 2 days.

If there hasn't been a study on this, there needs to be one.

[brendan120678]

1. Improper hygiene?

:shrug:

[Xipe Totec]

2. Bloody Hell, I'm going to die to Boney M

During one of Joe's many deliriums, he experiences a very strong reminiscence of a Boney M song, "Brown Girl in the Ring", a song he hated thoroughly; at one point he was thinking "bloody hell, I'm going to die to Boney M".

Touching the Void, part 11 of 12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4338okAy54E

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I don't know, but I woke up at 2:30 this morning with "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and it won't go

away!.!.!.! Where in the hell did that come from!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even like country music and never listen to it. I had to google it to make sure it was a real song.

[smirkymonkey]

4. And usually they are songs that I hate and they just pop up out

of nowhere. Makes me think I'm losing my mind or something.

[hedgehog]

5. Well, see, when a daddy earworm and a mommy earworm really, really like each other...

[AllenVanAllen]

6. What causes earworms?

[hippywife]

11. That first picture is so

slimy looking it makes me almost throw up in my mouth a little. :rofl:



:hi:

[alfredo]

7. This causes earworms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oavMtUWDBTM&feature=player_embedded

[nuxvomica]

8. I've always thought it was related to the Zeigarnik effect

The same reason that when someone sings "Shave and a haircut" one is forced to reply "two bits!" So I think songs become earworms because we don't hear them completely and they remain in the memory as unfinished business. This is more likely to happen, of course, with a song one doesn't like.

[conscious evolution]

9. Heres the story

of a man named brady.
:hide:

[grasswire]

10. the antidote for me is to hum "Cabaret" theme

the earworm goes away and Cabaret doesn't stick for some reason.

Sometimes I will become conscious that my mind is replaying over and over again just the tiniest snip of music -- not even two bars. Just a few notes. Over and over and over again somewhere in the background of the mind.

I'd like to know more about this process, too.