cold chill
{{short description|Physical human feeling}}
A cold chill (also known as chills, the chills or simply thrills) is described by David Huron{{clarify|date=December 2012}} as, "a pleasant tingling feeling, associated with the flexing of hair follicles resulting in goose bumps (technically called piloerection), accompanied by a cold sensation, and sometimes producing a shudder or shiver." Cold chills are a purely subjective response and, unlike piloerection, no objective physiological measure of cold chills exists. Unlike shivering, however, it is not caused by temperature, but rather is an emotionally triggered response{{cite journal|last=Maruskin|first=Laura A. |author2=Todd M. Thrash |author3=Andrew J. Elliot|title=The Chills as a Psychological Construct: Content Universe, Factor Structure, Affective Composition, Elicitors, Trait Antecedents, and Consequences|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|date=7 May 2012|volume=103|pages=135–157|doi=10.1037/a0028117|pmid=22564010|issue=1}} when one is deeply affected by things such as music,David Huron. Biological Templates for Musical Experience: From Fear to Pleasure. [http://www.music-cog.ohio-state.edu/Huron/Talks/2006/ISNM/abstract.html Abstract] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514175651/http://www.music-cog.ohio-state.edu/Huron/Talks/2006/ISNM/abstract.html |date=2016-05-14 }}{{cite journal|last=Panksepp|first=J.|title=The emotional sources of chills induced by music|journal=Music Perception|year=1995|volume=13|pages=171–207|doi=10.2307/40285693|issue=2|jstor=40285693|url=http://mp.ucpress.edu/content/13/2/171.full.pdf}} speech, or recollection. It is similar to autonomous sensory meridian response; both sensations consist of a pleasant tingling feeling that affects the skin on the back of the neck and spine.{{cn|date=December 2021}}
However, cold chills should not be confused with piloerection. Recent research has shown that self-reported chills do not correspond with observable piloerection,{{Cite journal |last=McPhetres |first=Jonathon |last2=Han |first2=Ailin |last3=Gao |first3=Halo H. |last4=Kemp |first4=Nicole |last5=Khati |first5=Bhakti |last6=Pu |first6=Cathy X. |last7=Smith |first7=Abbie |last8=Shui |first8=Xinyu |date=September 2024 |title=Individuals lack the ability to accurately detect emotional piloerection |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyp.14605 |journal=Psychophysiology |language=en |volume=61 |issue=9 |doi=10.1111/psyp.14605 |issn=0048-5772}} suggesting that they are independent phenomena.