Why do we get goosebumps?

Answer 1

Goosebumps are from tiny erector muscles in our skin trying to pull our hairs into an upright position. In our hairier ancestors, goosebumps made our hair stand up (or out) when they were cold to make them warmer, when they were scared or startled to make them look bigger. The same way cats and dogs react to cold, anger, and fright -- that's what goosebumps are trying to do for us. They are vestigial characteristics because they were useful in our past, but not so much in our present.

Answer 2

As pointed out there are a couple of reasons why we get goosebumps....the fear/emotional thing and there is the cold thing.

From my understanding the cold thing is to do with our hair....of which we have much thinner hair than our ancestors did, but its still useful in that when a goosebump occurs and causes the hair to stand on end it causes a lamella effect... in that the hairs trap air against the skin and form a barrier...in an attmept to stop us losing more heat ( this is along with the shivering).....air is a thermal insulator and this is a way to help us keep heat.

Answer 3

good answer ecolink
here is some further info:
The reflex of producing goose bumps is known as horripilation, piloerection, or the pilomotor reflex. It occurs not only in humans but also in many other mammals; a prominent example are porcupines which raise their quills when threatened.
Piloerection as a response to cold or fear is vestigial in humans; as humans retain only very little body hair, the reflex (in humans) now serves no known purpose.
n humans, goose bumps are strongest on the forearms, but also occur on the legs, back, and other areas of the skin that have hair. In some people, they even occur in the face or on the head.Goose bumps can occur only in mammals, since other animals do not have hair.

Answer 4

Evolutionary because one it used to make us intimidating (that's a common one) and two it creates movement around you whole body, which in turn creates heat.