I don’t know about you, but I feel like I get goosebumps more than the average person. Even when I’m not very cold, I find the little bumps all over my skin, causing the hair on my arms to stick straight up. What are these bumps all about?
Well, goosebumps were originally associated with the flight-or-fight response. 
We still see this today with animals. When they feel threatened or afraid, their hair rises and the animal will appear larger to predators.
So what about us humans? Goosebumps form when muscles at the base of the hair contract and this causes our hair to stick straight up! We see goosebumps when we are cold, afraid, or even when we see something awe-inspiring.
It makes sense that when we are cold we get goosebumps. Originally, goosebumps in animals occurred when they were cold because the rising of their hair caused extra insulation and kept the animal warm. However, humans today have much less hair than the animals who are able to obtain this extra help. So, in this situation, although we see where it comes from, it is not really much help to humans after all.
What about the other situations? Why does a bride get goosebumps when walking down the aisle? Why do we get goosebumps while watching a horror film? The answer is adrenaline. Adrenaline is released when we feel strong emotions. Not only does adrenaline cause an increase in blood pressure, tears, sweaty palms, trembles, and “butterflies” in our stomach, but it also produces goosebumps. In animals, adrenaline is released in stressful situations so that they can be prepared for the flight-or-fight response. Of course, as humans have evolved, these reactions aren’t quite as necessary or beneficial. However, we still show some of the effects.
In my opinion, one of the weirdest things is the actual name “goosebumps”. It is possible that the word originates from the fact that when feathers are pulled from a goose, bumpy flesh is left behind. Of course, we could also call them “turkeybumps”, because a turkey’s skin would react the same way if one of their feathers were to be plucked. Oddly enough, other languages also use the word goosebumps to describe this sensation. In Italian, the word for these tiny elevations of the skin is pelle d’oca, which literally means “skin of goose”.