Can’t Stop the Music? Earworms and the Paradox of Mental Control

Author: Riya Mirashi

Our minds have a curious habit of replaying music long after we’ve stopped listening. This can be the same catchy chorus or melody that can be stuck in our heads for days on repeat. Stuck song syndrome, also known as an earworm, is a short, repetitive section of a song that involuntarily loops in our minds. Earworms are an example of involuntary musical imagery (INMI), experiencing music in our minds without intentionally initiating or maintaining it. Rather than a rare psychological phenomenon, earworms are common, with more than 90% of individuals experiencing INMIs at least once a week (Liikkanen & Jakubowski, 2020). The aetiology, or origin, of earworms is similar between individuals; however, their phenomenology can differ due to individual differences. For example, some encounters can manifest as highly intrusive or psychologically disturbing experiences.

Why That Song?

Earworms aren’t simply songs we’ve heard too many times, as several factors determine whether a song gets stuck in our heads. So, what makes certain songs more likely to become earworms? One crucial factor is popularity, as people gain more exposure to popular songs, for example, by hearing them regularly on the radio. Therefore, repeated encounters make certain songs more likely to enter our memory and become earworms. In fact, Jakubowski et al. (2017) found that popular songs were more likely to be reported as earworms. However, not all popular songs were reported as earworms, suggesting that popularity may not be the sole reason for the creation of earworms. Further analysis of the same study revealed that songs with familiar melodies (making them easier to remember) and unusual pitch oscillations (increasing distinctiveness) were more likely to become earworms. Therefore, general exposure and intrinsic characteristics of music may work together to increase the likelihood of a song becoming an earworm. 

But the music itself isn’t the whole story. Non-musical cues can trigger INMIs, for example, memories, places, activities, and even individual words. Related environmental cues can activate a musical association, involuntarily bringing a song to our conscious minds (Liikkanen & Jakubowski, 2020). For example, hearing the word “hello” might cause the song Hello by Adele to be activated. However, at times the trigger can come from within us, from our internal feelings. For example, our emotional state can influence which music enters our minds, with mood and stress often preceding earworms (Liikkanen & Jakubowski, 2020). Furthermore, the emotional value we attach to a particular song may influence how strongly it becomes associated with our thoughts and experiences, therefore increasing the likelihood of certain songs being recalled (Beaman & Williams, 2010). Together, these findings suggest that earworms arise from several factors. However, this leaves one final piece of the puzzle: why are certain individuals more susceptible to experiencing earworms?

When Earworms Become Intrusive

Although earworms are a common experience, they can become highly invasive and debilitating for some individuals. To understand why, we need to shift our focus from the music itself to the characteristics of the listener. It has been found that individual personality differences can increase susceptibility to earworms. For example, there is a demographic of people who are highly neurotic and have a tendency to experience negative emotions like anxiety, worry, and emotional instability. These individuals are likely to experience more distressing INMIs, as their reports of earworms were more worrying, intrusive, and uncontrollable (Flouridou et al, 2012; Negishi & Sekiguchi, 2020). 

To put this into perspective, let’s look at two case studies of Person A and Person B who both experience earworms. Person A doesn’t mind the earworm, ignores it, and therefore is free of the tune (relatively earlier than an individual with OCD). However, Person B finds it obtrusive, applies expunging strategies, and obsesses over how they cannot control it, marking the beginning of an exhausting cycle. Here, Person B’s neuroticism may come into play. Interestingly, it has been found that those with high neuroticism have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (Zhang & Takahashi, 2024), a disorder which is characterised by similar intrusive, involuntary thoughts such as earworms (Flouridou et al, 2012).  Therefore, this raises the following question: are those with OCD more susceptible to INMI? Research has found similarities between earworms and compulsive symptoms of OCD (Dodds, 2025) as both may share the same cognitive mechanisms involved in repetitive behaviour. Furthermore, those with stronger compulsions/habitual tendencies reported more frequent and disturbing earworms (Dodds, 2025). For example, habits such as foot tapping might be associated with the above. Therefore, it’s evident that a demographic of individuals who experience more intrusive earworms tend to use more coping strategies (than the average individual) to suppress the tune. This, in turn, actually makes the earworm persist, which is a phenomenon referred to as Wegner’s Paradox.

Wegner’s Paradox and the Ironic Processing Theory

Have you ever gotten so fed up about a song stuck in your head that you’ve told yourself, “I need to get this song out of my head immediately," only to find yourself singing the same verse two minutes later? According to the Ironic Processing Theory by Wegner (1987), deliberately suppressing an intrusive thought increases its accessibility and persistence within your conscious mind. This concept is prominent in other forms of intrusive cognition and may also apply to earworms. This conclusion was reinforced by Beamans and Williams (2010), who observed a similar effect when investigating the relationship between thought-control strategies and the persistence of earworms. But why does this happen? When we try to get rid of an earworm, we first tell ourselves to stop thinking about the song. Ironically, this makes us monitor whether this song is still present, keeping the loop active and accessible in our consciousness. So how can we get rid of an earworm? Distraction or engaging in another activity can be more effective than deliberate suppression (Beaman & Williams, 2010), for example, focusing on activities such as chewing gum. This is effective because the mechanism of chewing interferes with the articulatory mechanisms used to mentally rehearse music, thus disrupting the earworm (Beaman et al, 2015). However, one of the most effective solutions is engaging in verbal activities like reading and talking (Likkanen & Jakubowski, 2020). This strategy may be beneficial due to a similar ideology where musical imagery and verbal material compete for the same cognitive resources. By keeping the brain busy with intense verbal activity, fewer resources are available for musical imagery to persist.

The Final Note 

Earworms are far more than just catchy songs. Their occurrence is shaped by a combination of musical features, our environment, and individual differences. While INMI is a normal part of our cognition, it can become intrusive for some individuals. Despite growing research, we still do not fully understand why earworms occur or whether they serve a useful cognitive function. Perhaps, much like other habits, earworms may simply be the mind’s tendency to repeat information without conscious intention. So, next time a song gets stuck in your head, remember: trying to force it out may be the very thing keeping it there…

References

Beaman, C. P., Powell, K., & Rapley, E. (2015). Rapid communication: Want to block earworms from conscious awareness? B(U)y gum! Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68(6), 1049–1057. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1034142

Beaman, C. P., & Williams, T. I. (2010). Earworms (stuck song syndrome): Towards a natural history of intrusive thoughts. British Journal of Psychology, 101(4), 637–653. https://doi.org/10.1348/000712609x479636

Dodds, C. M. (2025). Earworms as ‘mental habits’: Involuntary musical imagery is associated with a wide range of habitual behaviors. Consciousness and Cognition, 130, 103834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2025.103834

Floridou, G., Williamson, V., & Müllensiefen, D. (2012). Contracting earworms: The roles of personality and musicality.

Jakubowski, K., Finkel, S., Stewart, L., & Müllensiefen, D. (2017). Dissecting an earworm: Melodic features and song popularity predict involuntary musical imagery. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(2), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000090

Liikkanen, L. A., & Jakubowski, K. (2020). Involuntary musical imagery as a component of ordinary music cognition: A review of empirical evidence. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 27(6), 1195–1217. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01750-7

Negishi, K., & Sekiguchi, T. (2020). Individual traits that influence the frequency and emotional characteristics of involuntary musical imagery: An experience sampling study. PLOS ONE, 15(6), e0234111. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234111

Wegner, D. M., Schneider, D. J., Carter, S. R., & White, T. L. (1987). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.53.1.5

Zhang, L., & Takahashi, Y. (2024). Relationships between obsessive-compulsive disorder and the big five personality traits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.06.033