Ever wondered why some songs just stick?
Well James J. Kellaris, an associate professor of marketing in the University of Cincinnati College of Business Administration released an article some years ago with comprehensive reasons why certain songs get bung up inside you. According to him, playing the tune in loop in your head is merely a way of scratching a “cognitive itch”.
“It is like the familiar pattern of itching and scratching,” Kellaris says. “The only way to ‘scratch’ a cognitive itch is to rehearse the responsible tune mentally. The process may start involuntarily, as the brain detects an incongruity or something ‘exceptional’ in the musical stimulus. The ensuing mental repetition may exacerbate the ‘itch,’ such that the mental rehearsal becomes largely involuntary, and the individual feels trapped in a cycle or feedback loop.”