Why in the world is YAWNING contagious?
R. Wong
a fellow psychobiologist can help me answer this one.
What is the biological reason for yawning?
What is the psychological reason for why it's contagious?
When you are with a group of friends and it's getting late, some of you may
be tired and some of you may not be. Somehow though, when someone yawns
a number of people yawn and it just keeps on going until almost everybody
yawns. I can't explain this. Can you?
I heard that the biological reason for yawning is the lack of oxygen to the
brain. When you get tired, the respiratory system gets tired and starts to
take in less oxygen. A yawn is something your body does to inhale that
missing oxygen. If that is correct, then WHY do you yawn when you see some
one else yawn?
Thanks a lot,
Robert Kelly
x0...@lehigh.edu
Wong) writes:
>O.K. Here's a question that no one seems to have an answer for. Hopefully
>a fellow psychobiologist can help me answer this one.
>
> What is the biological reason for yawning?
an enemy or danger.
> What is the psychological reason for why it's contagious?
>
>When you are with a group of friends and it's getting late, some of you may
>be tired and some of you may not be. Somehow though, when someone yawns
>a number of people yawn and it just keeps on going until almost everybody
>yawns. I can't explain this. Can you?
>
>I heard that the biological reason for yawning is the lack of oxygen to the
>brain.
Todd A. L'Herrou
> u931...@muss.cis.McMaster.CA (R.Wong) writes:
>>O.K. Here's a question that no one seems to have an answer for. Hopefully
>>a fellow psychobiologist can help me answer this one.
>>
>> What is the biological reason for yawning?
>....... Signal that a strange odor is present, check it out it may be
> an enemy or danger.
>> What is the psychological reason for why it's contagious?
>....... Classical conditioning and neuro wavelet data intergration
>>When you are with a group of friends and it's getting late, some of you may
>>be tired and some of you may not be. Somehow though, when someone yawns
>>a number of people yawn and it just keeps on going until almost everybody
>>yawns. I can't explain this. Can you?
Social psychologists have noticed this phenomena for some time, and in
addition to yawning, coughing is similarly 'contagious'. For example, if you
audio-tape a lecture or presentation (the things we think up when the
conference gets boring <g>), there will be long spells with no coughing, then
usually one cough, followed by a series of coughs from others, gradually
growing in intensity, but eventually subsiding. My own observations and data
suggest that the phenomena follows an inverse power curve, identical to that
in other social influence situations, where the probability of a cough or yawn
decrease as an inverse square of the distance from the originator.
--Todd
--------------------------------------------------------------
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--------------------------------------------------------------
Jason Kennerly
daniel yonah lesley
brain, perhaps promoting wakefulness, for a short time, or providing cues that the time to sleep is soon. However, the phenomenon of group yawning
may be a separate mechanism linked to this one, in which a group's wake/sleep
rhythms are synchronized--i.e. the group that yawns together, wakes and, er,
sleeps together. So when one person started yawning, the general level of
wakefulness/tiredness of the rest of the group would become linked.
However, I've heard some fascinating hearsay reports of the effects
of yawning on other parts of the nervous system in general--for instance, that
people with hemiparalysis may actually regain involuntary movement of the
dysfunctional side, but only while yawning. Can't recall the source, but
it sounded fascinating, and seemed to indicate the possibility that more
than just oxygen intake was involved. (perhaps also oxygen distribution in the
brain, increase in arousal levels via basal ganglia, etc.)
Love to hear anything else on the topic.
Daniel
undergrad
U of Chicago
Jerry Barlow
him. Go figure.
Helmut Epp
advantage. A person yawns when he/she is tired, and it helps wake them
up. Let's say a caveman gets tired. It wouldn't be such a great idea
for him to fall asleep, leaving himself prey to nasty lions and tigers
and bears, so he yawns. When the other cavemen see him yawn, they yawn,
too. Thus, they stay more awake and alert.
Sounds like a reasonable explanation to me!
Christine
William E. White
>Monkey see. Monkey do. Maybe, but I can make my cat do it by yawning at
>him. Go figure.
I always thought it was a way of synchronizing sleep patterns in social
groups. Not that I had any *evidence* for that (except for observation,
which of course isn't worth much). Anyone else know if this has been
addressed?
--
| Bill White +1-614-594-3434 | bwh...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu |
| 44 Canterbury, Athens OH 45701 | finger for PGP2.2 block |
| http://oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu/personal/bwhite.html (check it out!) |
x0...@lehigh.edu
seph Robinson) writes:
>In my behaviour and brain chem class we discussed yawning as mechanism
>designed to cool the body, which is why it often follows energy consuming
>activities (such as copulation, or feeding).
>Again, making such a mechanism "contagious" between individuals could act
>as an early warning mechanism in a situation which is becoming
>increasingly warm, but so slowly that it is unlikely to be noticed
>consciously. Hence, it's a good signal to go lay down in the shade and
>take a nap.
>- Hannah Pazderka-Robinson
Interesting speculation. But if my memory is correct when I was out in
the cold early in the morning I and alot of other people were yawning.
I was also cold. Ron Blue
Gary Cooper
jose...@gpu2.srv.ualberta.ca "Joseph Robinson" writes:
> In my behaviour and brain chem class we discussed yawning as mechanism
> designed to cool the body, which is why it often follows energy consuming
> activities (such as copulation, or feeding).
>
> Again, making such a mechanism "contagious" between individuals could act
> as an early warning mechanism in a situation which is becoming
> increasingly warm, but so slowly that it is unlikely to be noticed
> consciously. Hence, it's a good signal to go lay down in the shade and
> take a nap.
So why did reading your post make me yawn? (No sarcasm there, it
really did). Why, if it's supposed to be related to temperature,
does one yawn when it's freezing cold? Why is yawning associated with
tiredness, whether ambient/body temperatures are high or low? I have
to say that this is the most unlikely explanation I've yet heard.
--
Gary Cooper
Joseph Robinson
designed to cool the body, which is why it often follows energy consuming
activities (such as copulation, or feeding).
Again, making such a mechanism "contagious" between individuals could act
as an early warning mechanism in a situation which is becoming
increasingly warm, but so slowly that it is unlikely to be noticed
consciously. Hence, it's a good signal to go lay down in the shade and
take a nap.
- Hannah Pazderka-Robinson
--
MariDoc2b
and needs oxygen. Incidentally, I have yawned at least twice. Just
saying the word make me yawn so I think its learned behavior. Besides, I
yawned in front of two children, one age 3 and one age 9. Neither one
yawned back. So, when do we learn to do it?
Marilyn
Tana J Murrah
a suggestive power that's powerfully associated?
TJ Murrah
Mar
Interesting. In our anatomy class, we were told that one *theory* is that
what a yawn does is force venous blood out of the pterygoid plexus (a network
of veins in/around the pterygoid muscles, which are involved in moving the
jaw.) This in turn induces venous drainage from the cavernous sinus via the
emissary veins... and that in turn increases arterial flow to the brain/head.
(Of course, that does nothing to explain why they're catching ;-))
Megan
--
"'Progress in ethics is the only cure for progress | mar...@netcom.com
in science.'" -- Freeman Dyson quoting Haldane | Blessed Be!
Jason Kennerly
until something reminds you. Contagious yawning, at least in my
experience, is also an interspecies thing, provided at least they are
domestic species - I seen it happen often with cats and dogs both to and
from people - one I even saw Christy yawn while in front of the sliding
glass door - then Beua and carry outside yawned - which was a cat to dog
transfer!
x0...@lehigh.edu
A while back someone suggested that yawning was to control temperature.
I immediately rejected the idea. Now, I am not so sure. Yawning
could have been used to control temperature in the early reptiles.
Our old reptilian brain which we have inherited could be using
these old neuronets for another reasons today.
Ron Blue x0...@lehigh.edu