2006-09-23 23:21:45 · 7 answers · asked by matthew l 1 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
Primitive tribal reaction. Tribe ready to sleep for the night.
2006-09-23 23:30:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
One theory is that yawns are contagious because at one time in evolutionary history, the yawn served to coordinate the social behavior of a group of animals. When one member of the group yawned to signal an event, all the other members of the group also yawned. Yawns may still be contagious these days because of a leftover response (a "vestigial" response) that is not used anymore.
A second theory is that the more empathetic you are the more likely you are to yawn in responce to someone elses yawn. The way this relates to consciousness is almost counter intuitive: The neural pathways involved in empathy are the same pathways involved in self-awareness, because we empathize with people by tapping into our own experiences .Self-awareness gives us a reference point for empathizing with people: You fall down on the sidewalk and get embarrassed, and I feel embarrassed for you because my brain remembers a time when I felt the same.
Noone really knows for sure why yawns are contageous, but these are some pretty cool hypothesis arnt they !!
Hope this helps :-)
2006-09-23 23:36:31 · answer #2 · answered by psycgirl25 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never seen the film Tom Thumb the part with the yawning man everybody yawns
2006-09-24 00:13:47 · answer #3 · answered by colin050659 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have no idea but reading yawn several times can make you yawn. Yawn.
2006-09-23 23:27:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
its weird coz i just read your question and u yawned
2006-09-23 23:30:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a reflex reaction. Not sure why we do it but it I think it is to do with showing those around us that we are bored, tired etc.
2006-09-23 23:31:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Didn't anyone tell you it's like smiling very contagious!!
2006-09-23 23:30:58 · answer #7 · answered by Dody 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋