Study Finds Participants Blush While Watching Themselves Sing Karaoke

The Fear of Blushing: Study Reveals Brain Activity Behind Embarrassment

In a quirky and slightly embarrassing study conducted by European scientists in Amsterdam, research participants were faced with a tough choice: sing Adele’s “Hello” or “Let It Go” from the movie “Frozen” in a karaoke session. The volunteers, aged 16 to 20, nervously belted out the tunes while being filmed and later subjected to an MRI exam to study their brain activity.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that most participants blushed while watching themselves sing, with increased activity in the cerebellum, a brain region associated with processing emotions. This blushing was likely an automatic response to feeling exposed and vulnerable.

Blushing is a common reaction to embarrassment, self-consciousness, or shame, with biologist Charles Darwin once calling it “the most peculiar and the most human of all the expressions.” The researchers deliberately chose difficult songs for the participants to sing, aiming to induce mistakes and increase feelings of embarrassment.

While watching videos of themselves singing, participants’ cheek temperatures increased by about one degree, indicating blushing. Interestingly, when watching videos of other participants, volunteers did not blush as much. The cerebellum was most active when participants watched themselves sing, suggesting heightened engagement and a spontaneous blushing response.

Lead researcher Milica Nikolić, a professor of developmental psychopathology, plans to further investigate blushing behavior in young children to better understand this intriguing phenomenon. Stay tuned for more insights into the science behind blushing and embarrassment.