“Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” – Why Catchy Tunes Are Annoying… And How To Get Rid Of Them

We all know this: A favorite song, an annoying commercial jingle, the 8-bitTetris-Music… everyone is definitely plagued by unwanted catchy tunes. In a survey conducted in 2011, 90% of more than 12,000 people surveyed stated that they had an earwig at least once a week. But… What’s actually going on here, scientifically and all that?

The scientific term itself was conceived in 1979 by the German psychiatrist Cornelius Eckert and is referred to as a defines a piece of music that is played in a loop, usually about 20 seconds long, that suddenly plays in our head without having to actively remember it. Such a catchy tune can last for hours, days or in extreme cases longer.

But why is this happening?

Research has not yet provided a conclusive explanation as to exactly how earwigs are activated or in which part of the brain they are located. Most historical studies were simple investigations; only in recent years have scientists attempted to induce earwigs under laboratory conditions.

However, there are some clues and well-founded assumptions. One possible explanation is that our brain responds to repetitions and patterns, because they do not occur very regularly in nature. However, optical patterns are less accurate and thus less repetitive than acoustic patterns. For example, garden fences are visually repetitive, but every time we see the same fence, we view it from a different angle or in a different light. However, the sound of a song in our headphones is the same every time. The more accurate such repetitions are, the stronger their impact on memory.

Brain researchers suspect that this is a form of mind wandering actions. Earwigs pop up when our brains are inactive or looking for a distraction – when we’re bored, like, but even if we’re just overwhelmed. “It is significant that people with neurosis or those who are tired or stressed are particularly prone to earwigs,” said James Kellaris, a professor at the University of Cincinnati who has conducted extensive research on the subject.

One example is the extreme stress that mountaineer Joe Simpson experienced when he was stranded on a remote Peruvian mountain after a climbing accident. Suddenly walked with him brown girl in the ring by Boney M in endless loop. “It went non-stop for hours,” he says in the documentary film touch the void, “And I thought, damn it, I’m going to have to die now for the sound of Boney M. I don’t even like the band.”

Music seems to affect the motor cortex of the brain, which is why arguably musical memory works how we learn skills, not how we remember facts (ergo: you don’t forget how to ride a bike; but you learn the material from your Matura exam). MRI scans have shown that the auditory cortex continues to function even when the brain only hears part of a song it knows, even when the rest of the song is muted.

But: But not every song has what it takes to be a catchy tune. Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band of the Beatles is one. Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in Jimi Hendrix’s version there is none. Why?

According to science the most effective earwigs often the following:

A Combining the predictable and the unexpected, So. A simple melody, a repetitive text, so to speak, combined with a novelty – an unusual rhythm, a sonically striking drum sound, etc. This is an effectively catchy tune. Not surprisingly, the same factors have long been incorporated into their songs by the pop and jingle industries (with Lady Gaga and Abba being the main culprits scientists have dealt with).

But why are earwigs so annoying?

The fact is, we tend to remember the songs that bother us the most. “If you ask someone for a catchy tune, they say the song that irritated them yesterday,” Victoria Williamson, a music psychologist at the University of Sheffield, told Science Magazine. Science. “The three or four other songs that you had in mind for a while that didn’t really bother you are not mentioned.” ironic processes this is what psychology calls: The brain remembers not to think about what you don’t want to think about. It is the so-called White bear phenomenon: When prompted Not when you think of a white bear, you will obsessively think of a white bear.

So the key question is: how do I get rid of a catchy tune?

Science has prepared three common methods: close, infer or accept.

AND NOW: Tell us your most annoying catchy tunes! Songs you can hardly get rid of! The comment column is open!