Goosebumps, or cutis anserina, are small bumps on the skin caused by the contraction of tiny muscles at the base of hair follicles. They serve a biological function in animals with fur or feathers, but are vestigial in humans. Goosebumps can be caused by strong emotions or low temperatures and are a remnant from when humans had more hair.
Goose pimples are small bumps or raised areas of a person’s skin that form at the very base of hair follicles. These raised areas of skin are also seen in other animals, such as mammals and birds, and typically serve a number of different biological functions. Animals covered with fur or feathers are capable of shifting the position of the hair or feathers forming these small bumps, which can then provide more warmth to the animal. Goose pimples also help an animal appear larger and more intimidating by displacing fur or feathers, though for humans, these bumps are largely vestigial and provide little or no real benefit.
Also called goosebumps, goosebumps, and cutis anserina, goosebumps can form on virtually any part of a person’s body with hair, though not on the face. They are created through a physiological reflex when tiny muscles, called arrectores pilorum, contract and pull slightly on the base of the follicle to make the hair stand on end. The reflex that creates the goosebumps is called horripilation or the pilomotor reflex and is typically controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, which is also responsible for much of the biological fight-or-flight response system.
Goosebumps have also been found to form on other mammals, such as various primates, sea otters, and mice, as well as various bird species in which the twitching controls the feathers rather than the hair follicles. The name “goosebumps” comes from the resemblance of the raised skin to the appearance of goosebumps when the feathers have been removed. In languages such as German, Italian and Polish, the names of this reflex are similarly related to geese, although in Spanish, French and some other languages the term for goosebumps refers to hens rather than geese .
There are two basic causes for the appearance of goosebumps on a person’s skin: strong emotional reactions and low temperatures. Both causes of goosebumps are likely remnants from previous states of human existence where people were covered with an increased amount of hair. Extreme emotional conditions that may cause a response similar to a “flight or fight” might trigger the pilomotor reflex to make a person appear larger or more intimidating to a predator or other threat.
Cold conditions may cause the response as fur-covered creatures can use their “standing” hair to increase warmth. Goosebumps cause the hair to lift slightly, creating a layer of air between the hair and the skin that can act as an insulator. While this is no more effective for people with far less hair than primates and other mammals, the reflex remains in place.
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