FYI: Why Do We Get Goosebumps and Chills When We're Scared?

Shiver me timbers, I feel a tickle and a giggle after being spooked?

The article suggests my goose bumps are an angry response defense mechanism and millions of year ago would scare away the monsters. Um, my teeth can be scary, my hands with a weapon can be scary, my hands if I am strong can be scary too. Goose bumps and hair standing up are considered scary? I do not think so.

I suppose, if I am having a bad hair day, I can scare away a date.

@Q Anthropologically speaking yes, appearing larger is generally a deterrent, look at all the examples in the animal kingdom, not just hair, some snakes puff up before they attack (i'm think King Cobra), etc...

This article actually puts a lot of things in perspective for me. Also explains why I don't like those scary false alarms, my consciousness is very good at forgetting itself, but it makes it wonderful in music. I wonder what tones the author is speaking about when mentioning the separation cry. More info please?

All this time i thought it was to heighten the sences of touch.

jmadrigal12,
No, actually you are a dangerous goose bumpy monster getting ready to terrify the neighborhood with your big fuzzy crazy hair!

great article. i did not know that.

_________________
The people of the world only divide into two kinds, One sort with brains who hold no religion, The other with religion and no brain.

- Abu-al-Ala al-Marri

This totally makes sense. Lets use the cat example. When they arch their backs, and their fur stands up, how many people with common sense would reach out to pet them? Our natural instinct is to pull back, because we "know" that if we continue, our hands might look like ground meat when we pull back.
So if we had more hair, like the caveman was thought to have, when they got their goose bumps, their hair would stand on end, thus warning potential enemies that they might not come back whole if they pursue their actions.

This article is at best a weak explanation. Why on earth would we keep a defense mechanism that has been utterly useless for all of recorded human history?

Goosebumps are known to occur when a person is cold or experiences fear, nostalgia, pleasure, awe, admiration, sexual arousal or other strong emotions. When we experience any of these, adrenaline is pumped through our body and effects virtually every tissue in it.

When we are scared, the expanse in muscle tissue caused by adrenaline does far more to make us appear larger than the resulting goosebumps. Adrenaline causes a subdermal reaction (the expansion of muscles) as well as an epidermal reaction (goosebumps). Its the subdermal reactions that have the larger consequences - the expansion of muscle tissue is the defense mechanism, not the goosebumps.

But this is all obvious! Why people insist on throwing out sensible explanations so they may replace them with evolution nonsense I care not to know.

Sorry to be the arrogant arse of the group, but someone has to do it.

@NoOneYouKnow
What you say is true, but in a organism such as ourselves that have little to no muscle compared to that of wild animals, a slight increase in muscle size wouldn't do much to deter, say, a cougar. However, if we where to double our body size with fur I'm pretty sure said cougar would think twice.