Earworms as ‘mental habits’: Involuntary musical imagery is associated with a wide range of habitual behaviors

Earworms have been associated with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), indicating a link to neurocognitive systems involved in the regulation of habitual behavior. The present study investigated whether earworms are associated with a range of habits and compulsions, and with a broader tendency to behave in habitual, routine ways in everyday life. Participants (N = 883) completed an online survey measuring frequency of earworms, other habits and compulsions, everyday habitual tendencies and anxiety. Habitual tendencies in everyday life positively predicted earworm frequency, control and disturbance, even when controlling for anxiety. Furthermore, earworms were strongly associated with 22 other habitual behaviors and compulsions, with the strongest associations being observed for repetitive motor behaviors such as foot tapping, and repetitive mental behaviors such as counting and spelling. These findings suggest that previously observed associations between earworms and OCD symptomatology might be due to a common basis in systems that produce and regulate habitual behavior.