Yawning is contagious. A new study shows that this is mostly the case for women because they are more empathetic.
It’s evening. Sitting by your side, your neighbor stretches out, takes a deep breath, and stifles a long yawn. Right away, your eyes start to sting, your jaw stretches, and you yawn too.
Many scientific studies have proven that yawning is contagious. The latest, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, examines the difference between men and women in this area.
More empathetic women
The researchers, from the University of Pisa, in Italy, collected over five years data on the yawns of more than 4,000 individuals, who were in public places, such as train stations, airports or even offices. These did not know when they were being observed.
The researchers knew the relationships between individuals, and they noted all episodes of contagious yawning, that is, all the times when one person’s yawn resulted in another.
First observation: an episode of contagious yawning appears more frequently when people know each other and are close. But the researchers also note differences between the sexes. In fact, more women yawn when someone yawns near them.
The explanation put forward by the researchers is simple. Women would imitate those around them, as they would have a more developed sense of empathy.
This relationship between empathy and contagious yawn had already been demonstrated in primates, but also in a study on psychopaths. Researchers had then shown that less empathetic people, especially those showing signs of psychopathy, were less prone to contagious and repeated yawning.
Bottom Line: If you yawn but your neighbor isn’t following you, maybe you should be concerned about their ability to be empathetic.
Yawning More Contagious in Women: A Matter of Empathy … https://t.co/P6bT1oWhac pic.twitter.com/XlQCPHCfFc
– Pourquoidocteur (@Pourquoidocteur) February 5, 2016
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