Why is Yawning Contagious?
Article Sources
- 1. Rundle, Brian K., et al. 'Contagious Yawning and Psychopathy.' Personality and Individual Differences, Pergamon, 5 June 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886915003645
- 2. Carey, Teresa. 'Why Are Yawns Contagious? We Asked a Scientist.' PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 17 July 2018, www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-are-yawns-contagious-we-asked-a-scientist#:~:text=What is known is that,imitate the actions of others
- 3. AC;, Massen JJ;Dusch K;Eldakar OT;Gallup. 'A Thermal Window for Yawning in Humans: Yawning as a Brain Cooling Mechanism.' Physiology & Behavior, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24721675/
- 4. Norscia, Ivan, et al. 'Auditory Contagious Yawning Is Highest Between Friends and Family Members: Support to the Emotional Bias Hypothesis.' Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 3 Apr. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7147458/
- 5. Nahab, Fatta B. 'Exploring Yawning with Neuroimaging.' Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4041699/
- 6. Featured Neuroscience Psychology, May 22, 2018, et al. 'Why Do We Yawn and Why Is Yawning So Contagious?' Neuroscience News, 22 May 2018, neurosciencenews.com/yawning-contagious-9112/
- 7. St. Louis Public Radio | By Eli Chen. 'Contagious Yawning, Laughing and Scratching Gives Clues to How the Human Brain Works.' St. Louis Public Radio, 27 Mar. 2017, news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2017-03-25/contagious-yawning-laughing-and-scratching-gives-clues-to-how-the-human-brain-works
- 8. 'Yawning: Causes and Reasons for Contagious Yawning.' Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318414#Can-one-yawn-too-much
Other Contagious Nonverbal Behaviors
Yawning isn't the only nonverbal form of communication that may be contagious. Laughter, emotions, facial expressions and even scratching may also be contagious. Like emotions and other social cues, people may be compelled to imitate yawning when they see it.7St. Louis Public Radio | By Eli Chen. ‘Contagious Yawning, Laughing and Scratching Gives Clues to How the Human Brain Works.’ St. Louis Public Radio, 27 Mar. 2017, news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2017-03-25/contagious-yawning-laughing-and-scratching-gives-clues-to-how-the-human-brain-works
Some scientists believe these behaviors helped the human species work together and convey important information before developing language. Scientists study these types of contagious behaviors to help understand the workings of the brain.
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