• Question: Why is it that if one person yawns at you, you have the urge to yawn aswell? For example, when my friend loked at this, she yawned in response, it's weird!

    Asked by winchester to Andrew, Emma, Marianne on 15 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Marianne Baker

      Marianne Baker answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      This is fascinating isn’t it!

      What I’ve heard and am inclined to believe is that it’s a leftover trait from the times of of our ancestors, when a member of the group yawned it signalled bed time and so it spread around the pack/troupe (whatever you want to call a group of pre-human primates!).

      I think there is very similar behaviour in chimps and gorillas today so it sounds like a plasible explanation to me.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      A question and a dissing in one. nice. Apparently contagious yawning stems from a hard-wired evolutionary response that helps mammals function as groups. There are certain advantages to having the same schedule if you want to stay together as a group. Thus if one monkey yawns, another is programmed to copy it and the signal spreads through the group indicating that it’s time to go for a sleep.
      (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6270036.stm).

      So, basically it happened to you and your friend because you’re not that far-removed from monkeys…

    • Photo: Andrew Maynard

      Andrew Maynard answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Hi winchester,

      I’m trying not to yawn as I read the question – you’re right, it’s contagious!

      This is a question that has stumped many scientists – and I’m still not sure we have an answer to it. At least I don’t know of an answer – maybe someone else does!

Comments