Stuck in my head: Musical obsessions and experiential avoidance

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Music Psychology

Background:

• Earworms are involuntary musical imagery, often experienced as repetitive tunes.
• Limited empirical research exists on earworms, with some linking them to obsessive-compulsive disorder traits.
• Understanding earworms requires exploring their subjective experience and psychological correlates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the subjective experience of earworms, including frequency, duration, and distress.
• To examine the relationship between earworm-related distress/interference and psychological constructs like obsessive beliefs and experiential avoidance.
• To investigate potential mechanisms underlying earworm persistence and distress.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 240 participants.
• Participants reported on their earworm experiences (frequency, duration, distress, interference).
• Standardized measures assessed obsessive beliefs and experiential avoidance.

Main Results:

• Descriptive data on earworm frequency, duration, distress, and interference were presented.
• Experiential avoidance emerged as a significant unique predictor of earworm-related distress and interference.
• Findings suggest that attempts to suppress earworms may exacerbate associated distress and interference.

Conclusions:

• Earworm distress and interference are associated with experiential avoidance.
• The suppression of earworms might contribute to their negative impact.
• Future research should explore therapeutic interventions targeting experiential avoidance for earworm management.