Why you get goosebumps and what research reveals about their purpose

Ever wondered why your skin prickles and tiny bumps appear when you are cold, scared or moved by emotion? That reaction, known as goosebumps, feels familiar, but its biology and purpose are less commonly discussed. A peer-reviewed study published in Psychophysiology (2024) examined emotional piloerection, the scientific term for goosebumps, and found that while many people report experiencing goosebumps during emotional events, only about 31.8 per cent of self-reported episodes corresponded to o