Exploring Earworms: An Analysis of Tendencies Observed From a Diary Study of Stuck Song Syndrome Amongst a Sample of University Students

This study tracks specific earworm tendencies amongst a sample of university students in an effort to support previous theories and to offer fresh perspectives about what causes earworms and why some people may experience more earworms than others. Every participant was placed in one of four categories: Female Music Major (FMM), Female, Non-Music Major (FNM), Male Music Major (MMM), and Male, Non-Music Major (MNN). This study determined that females experienced more earworms than males, and music majors experienced less earworms than other majors. The study also found that most earworms occurred while participants were in an environment that they did not find particularly engaging, ranging from doing homework to commuting on the bus. Data collected from this research provides potential platforms for future research in the topic of a deep analysis of earworm tendencies amongst a wider population.