Hyper Normal Stimuli
Sounds like something out of a Cronenberg film, right? I don’t know where I first heard about this or read about it, but this phrase is supposed to describe an interesting phenomenon. It’s like this. Every animal is guided by instincts. Got it. And these instincts evolved over the millennia to assist ultimately in the organism’s effort to reproduce. That’s the ultimate goal. So along the way our instincts developed to help us choose the right things to eat. Others to help us beasties avoid injury. So the idea is that humans are so damn clever that we have learned to exploit our own instincts by presenting exaggerated versions of the things that engage the instinctual side—the limbic system, the ancient clockwork that we don’t really think about, but is pretty much driving the bus.
So this reminded me of a friend I had in middle school. He had this killer laser gun toy. This must’ve been like 1984. It had lights in it and it could emit all kinds of laser gun sounds, explosions, stuff like that. I loved it! I really liked this one setting that sounded like a bunch of super high-pitched beeps and clicks. There was something about it that was almost melodic. But totally random too. Anyway, after about 15 minutes of messing around with this thing, we noticed that his backyard was filling up with little birds. We thought it might be this crazy sound that was coming out of the gun.
So I got a stick to hold down the trigger, left it under a tree, and we went inside to see what would happen. Over the next 20 minutes the backyard became utterly packed with all kinds of different little sparrows and finches and whatnot. We were amazed! I guess to those little birds, the sound of that gadget and its echoing off of the walls sounded like an insane gathering that they ought to check out. Hyper normal.
Now the effect that the toy had on the birds was purely accidental, but humans have been at this for a long time. Probably from the beginning. One of the best examples of it would be refined sugar. Sweet things in our early past were rare, but they pack a lot of energy. And it wasn’t Rousseau’s garden of Eden. Life was hard. If you came across some sweet fruit, you’d better eat it. Those of us that had a taste for it got the benefit of those calories. So now, basically all humans enjoy sweets. Someone eventually cracks the code and Abracadabra! Pure sugar! Hyper normal.
Anyway, since I started thinking about this, I keep noticing things. Scary movies seem to be really good exploits of our instincts.
I mean, any narrative that grabs us is, really. How do political parties exploit this? We want to feel virtuous. We want to belong. We want to feel safe. I mean it’s everywhere. Pornography would be a hyper normal stimuli.
The vibrant colors in art, even. And maybe, I mean, I suppose…music might be exploiting our instincts somehow! Ha! Shudder to think.
What those instincts might be is where it gets curious. I think for me, there’s definitely a desire to communicate. And a desire to receive. On some emotional level. It’s hard because music is so multifaceted. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it more. What do you guys think? What does music trigger in you? Is it a hyper normal stimuli?
Interesting stuff.
Music is a multi-sensory stimulus that actually induces structural and functional changes in the brain. It can physically change your brain! There are some really interesting studies on it.
Music helps us destress, aids in in emotional regulation, helps distract us from things that cause us pain. That’s why it’s often used in medical setting for things like mental health.
Conversely, music can have negative effects on us, depending on the song/sound. As you know, mental disorders like those caused from ptsd can be triggered by music. say you started a song with a heavy organ sound, like one you might hear in a church, it could trigger a memory or experience related to a church setting. Maybe a funeral, for example. That would obviously trigger an emotional response.
Check out the national library of medicine, there’s an article called
“The transformative power of music: Insights into neuroplasticity, health, and disease“
Music is one of the most powerful and versatile tools we have. Use it wisely and mindfully, and responsibly.
I don't know if this fits the discussion, but I frequently experience what I've heard called "frisson" from certain pieces of music. It starts as a body chill or shiver that goes up my neck and sort of explodes at the top of my head as a warm sensation. It can be very intense. Your song "The Fear" does it to me. "Dear Avery" by The Decemberists, "Hold On" by Tom Waits, "Proserpina" by Martha Wainwright, "Play Dead" by Björk, "O Children" by Nick Cave, "Hundreds of Sparrows" by Sparklehorse, a lot of Mozart pieces... all give me frisson, just to name a few. I notice that it often comes from music that builds in intensity throughout the song, or that includes a choir or swelling backing vocals. And my emotional connection to the lyrics is often a factor. I sometimes wonder if there's some ancient human reason for that response.
P.S. bird song/call has a very calming influence on me... your Downy Woodpecker photo made me think of that (could be a Hairy Woodpecker -- I can't judge the scale of him from the photo)