Comments for Is Yawning Contagious?

Is Yawning Contagious?

2007-02-13T01:04:23Z

My daughter is doing a project for Biology ... and needs your help. Can you watch this 14-second video, and answer the one-question poll below it?

Comment from Elsa on 2007-07-18

2007-07-18T14:25:32Z

I think it is contagious, I don't know if this is the exact word, but it always happens to me
even when I try hard to avoid it, if I see someone yawning or if I think about this I can't stop. Even now you 'll have to see me, it is just 11.24 am and for me looks as if it is time to go to bed

Comment from Stephen on 2007-05-31

2007-05-31T16:23:32Z

I have been able to demonstrate that yawning is not necessarily a contagious activity (Provine, 1989, Platek, et al, 2003). In fact I find little correlation between yawning and contagion in classroom situations, especially. I rarely yawn when one of my students yawns. In fact, I believe that yawning is the individual's physiological manifestation of the processing of conflict between two or more competing stimuli.

Stephen Rafe, Graduate Studies Adjunct Professor, Research Methods

Comment from Stephen on 2007-05-31

2007-05-31T16:23:17Z

Stephen Rafe, Graduate Studies Adjunct Professor, Research Methods

Comment from michael edelman on 2007-04-07

2007-04-07T16:58:36Z

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_cells