Why Is Yawning Contagious?
Yawning spreads like wildfire. And while there are several theories now being investigated, experts are still unsure of the exact reason why it occurs.
Let’s examine a few of the most common physiological and psychological ones.
1. Fixed action pattern
According to the first physiological theory, a first yawn acts as a particular stimulus to cause contagious yawning. It’s known as a fixed action pattern. Fixed action patterns can be compared to reflexes. You yawn when you see someone yawn. One person’s yawn causes somebody close who has seen the act to yawn, similar to a domino effect.
This reflex must complete its cycle once it is initiated. Ever attempted to halt a yawn after it has started? Practically unattainable
2. The chameleon effect
The chameleon effect, often known as non-conscious imitation, is another physiological theory. This happens when you unintentionally and subtly duplicate someone else’s conduct without realizing it.
People often adopt each other’s postures as models. You might cross your own legs if you are seated across from someone who is doing so.
According to this theory, we automatically imitate someone else’s behavior when we yawn when we watch them yawn. This chameleon effect, according to scientists, is made possible by a unique group of neurons known as mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are a special kind of brain cell that reacts to both our own actions and those we witness in others.
Both learning and self-awareness depend on these neurons. For instance, observing someone do a physical task—like knitting or applying lipstick—can improve your performance of that identical action.
An part of the brain that houses these mirror neurons tends to light up when we see or simply hear someone yawn. We then have the identical reaction as a result, which is a yawn.
3. The empathy yawn
The function of these mirror neurons is also included in the psychological hypothesis. We’ll refer to it as the empathy yawn.
Empathy is the capacity to share in another person’s emotion and comprehend how they are experiencing. It is a critical skill for social creatures like ourselves. Neuroscientists have discovered that a certain subset of mirror neurons enables us to more deeply comprehend the sentiments of others (yawn).
When examining the first hypothesis we suggested, fixed behavior pattern, researchers found this sympathetic reaction to yawning. This experiment was designed to demonstrate that dogs will yawn reflexively at the sound of a yawn from a human being. While their research supported this, they also discovered something else that was intriguing. With their owners or other familiar people yawned, dogs yawned more frequently than when yawns from strangers.
In light of this finding, more research on humans and monkeys has revealed that friends are more likely than strangers to experience infectious yawning.
In reality, contagious yawning begins to happen when we are around four or five years old, around the time when kids learn to fully recognize other people’s emotions.
More study is still required to fully understand the mechanisms underlying contagious yawning, even if recent scientific investigations attempt to show that it is founded on this ability for empathy. It’s possible that a completely other theory holds the key to the solution.
Take a moment to reflect on what happened the last time you were caught in a yawn before you yawn again. Did you have a yawn in mind? Did you hear a yawn nearby? Was that individual a complete stranger or a close friend? And are you currently yawning?
