Why Are Yawns Contagious Theories and Studies

Every person yawns. So do many other vertebrate animals, including snakes, dogs, cats, sharks, and chimpanzees. While yawning is contagious, not everyone catches a yawn. Around 60-70% of people yawn if they see another person yawn in real life or in a photo or even read about yawning. Contagious yawning also occurs in animals, but it doesnt necessarily work the same way as in people. Scientists have proposed many theories for why we catch yawns. Here are some of the leading ideas: Yawning Signals Empathy Probably the most popular theory of contagious yawning is that yawning serves as a form of nonverbal communication. Catching a yawn shows youre attuned to a persons emotions. Scientific evidence comes from a 2010 study  at the University of Connecticut, which concluded yawning does not become contagious until a child is about four years old, when empathy skills develop. In the study, children with autism, who may have impaired empathy development, caught yawns less often than their peers. A 2015 study addressed contagious yawning in adults. In this study, college students were given personality tests and asked to view video clips of faces, which included yawning. The results indicated students with lower empathy were less likely to catch yawns. Other studies have identified a correlation between diminished contagious yawning and schizophrenia, another condition linked to reduced empathy. Relationship Between Contagious Yawning and Age However, the link between yawning and empathy is inconclusive. Research at the Duke Center for Human Genome Variation, published in the journal PLOS ONE, sought to define the factors that contribute to contagious yawning. In the study, 328 healthy volunteers were given a survey that included measures of sleepiness, energy levels, and empathy. Survey participants watched a video of people yawning and counted how many times they yawned while watching it. While most people yawned, not everyone did. Of the 328 participants, 222 yawned at least once. Repeating the video test multiple times revealed that whether or not a given person yawns contagiously is a stable trait. The Duke study found no correlation between empathy, time of day, or intelligence and contagious yawning, yet there was a statistical correlation between age and yawning. Older participants were less likely to yawn. However, because age-related yawning only accounted for 8% of the responses, the investigators intend to look for a genetic basis for contagious yawning. Contagious Yawning in Animals Studying contagious yawning in other animals may provide clues to how people catch yawns. A study conducted at the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University in Japan examined how chimpanzees respond to yawning. The results, published in The Royal Society Biology Letters, indicated two of six chimps in the study clearly yawned contagiously in response to videos of other chimps yawning. Three infant chimps in the study did not catch yawns, indicating young chimps, like human children, may lack the intellectual development needed to catch yawns. Another interesting finding of the study was that chimps only yawned in response to videos of actual yawns, not to videos of chimps opening their mouths. A University of London study found dogs could catch yawns from humans. In the study, 21 of 29 dogs yawned when a person yawned in front of them, yet did not respond when the human simply opened his mouth. The results supported a correlation between age and contagious yawning, as only dogs older than seven months were susceptible to catching yawns. Dogs arent the only pets known to catch yawns from humans. Although less common, cats have been known to yawn after seeing people yawn. Contagious yawning in animals may serve as a means of communication. Siamese fighting fish yawn when they see their mirror image or another fighting fish, generally just prior to an attack. This could be a threat behavior or it could serve to oxygenate the fishs tissues prior to exertion. Adelie and emperor penguins yawn at each other as part of their courtship ritual. Contagious yawning is linked to temperature,  in both animals and people. Most scientists speculate it is a thermoregulatory behavior, while some researchers believe it is used to communicate a potential threat or stressful situation. A 2010 study of budgerigars found that yawning increased as temperature was raised near body temperature. People commonly yawn when tired or bored. Similar behavior is seen in animals. One study found the brain temperature in sleep deprived rats was higher than their core temperature. Yawning reduced brain temperature, possibly improving brain function. Contagious yawning could act as a social behavior, communicating a time for a group to rest. The Bottom Line The bottom line is that scientists arent completely certain why contagious yawning occurs. It has been linked to empathy, age, and temperature, yet the underlying reason why isnt well understood. Not everyone catches yawns. Those who dont may simply be young, old, or genetically predisposed to not-yawning, not necessarily lacking empathy. References and Recommended Reading Anderson, James R.; Meno, Pauline (2003). Psychological Influences on Yawning in Children. Current Psychology Letters. 2 (11).Gallup, Andrew C.; Gallup (2007). Yawning as a brain cooling mechanism: Nasal breathing and forehead cooling diminish the incidence of contagious yawning. Evolutionary Psychology. 5 (1): 92–101.Shepherd, Alex J.; Senju, Atsushi; Joly-Mascheroni, Ramiro M. (2008). Dogs catch human yawns. Biology Letters. 4 (5): 446–8.

Report- Dimensions of Diversity - 1578 Words

Dimension of Diversity Race and/or gender are not the definition of diversity. Diversity is all of us and how we are so different. To better understand diversity it can be broken down into four different dimensions and classifications. These points will help you begin to pick apart the complex topic of diversity. Dimensions 1. Dimension may be hidden/ visible a. Race, gender and possible age or wealth index may be a visible dimension that / would classify people into one group. b. Intelligent, non-religious, and vegetarian are term that would identify a person to one group that would be hidden, until of course the person shared the information. b.i. Example- Sarah is a Caucasian, female in 40’s that is athletically built, truthful†¦show more content†¦Take the time to listen to them and understand what they are trying to convey and then respond in a way that they will understand. Body language, electronic tools, and spoken language are all modes of communication that can be used to communicate more effectively. An amazing leader knows that communication is a skill that is built upon and continually developing. Conflict Management Conflict is defined as â€Å"one party perceives it’s interest are being opposed or set back by another party† (Kreitner and Kinicki). Conflict can be classified as functional or dysfunctional. 1. Functional a. More of a positive conflict that applies to â€Å"constructive or cooperative† conflict. (Kreitner and Kinicki) 2. Dysfunctional a. â€Å"Threaten the organizational interest† (Kreitner and Kinicki) â€Å"Dealing effectively with conflict requires fundamental skills in interpersonal relationships.†(Diversity Counciouceness, 169) According to an executive assistant that has had years of experience in social management dealing with conflict. She and her colleague believe there are nine skills that help manage conflict (Hagman and Stroope). 1. problem solving a. being able to work through a problem 2. asking for help a. If you don’t know how to do something, ask for help so that a bigger problem is prevented. 3. engaging people to talk and work together a. Get everyone input and work together 4. communicating with sources of opposition in orderShow MoreRelatedDiversity On The Walgreens Company1683 Words   |  7 PagesDiversity on the Walgreens Company Website The Walgreens Drug Store Company has about 8100 stores in all America, which makes the store very accessible to the public. The Walgreens stores are located deeper in the communities and touch many lives. The company employs about 251,000 workers with more than 70,000 healthcare providers (Walgreens Diversity Inclusion Report, 2014). Diversity in this company is very important due to the widespread in the community and the higher number of workers. 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A Language Older Than Words Free Essays

A Language Older Than Words Response Paper In the novel A Language Older Than Words, Derrick Jensen covers many different themes in the many chapters that he has divided his book into. The two chapters that really interested me were Breaking Out and Economics. The two themes that Jensen discusses is the relationship with the self and other as well as the monetary symbol in our society respectively. We will write a custom essay sample on A Language Older Than Words or any similar topic only for you Order Now I was able to relate to both of these topics in different ways. In the chapter Breaking Out Jensen focuses on the image of the self and the relationship we have with each other. Jensen writes about how we are constricted to our own concentration camp in our society. It is not an actual concentration camp yet it is a concentration camp in our way of thinking and constructing the image of ourselves and our relationship as human beings. â€Å"In a concentration camp, it is better (in terms of maintaining physical life; spiritual life is an entirely different question) to be the killer than the killed, better to be a collaborator than a resister, a guard than a collaborator, a supervisor than a guard, and better still to be the boss (125). He states that having everyone act in his or her own best interest may not be the best interest for society in general. â€Å"Part of the reason we’ve been able to convince ourselves that by exploiting others we’re acting in our own best interest is that we’ve accepted a severely constricted definition of self (125). † Jensen speaks about how the image of our self is not the image that we should ac cept. We must break out of that concentration camp that society has constructed and create our own view of what type of individual we want to be without the help of society or the fear of society judging ones self. The quote that Jensen wrote about the concentration camp really strokes a chord in my head. My own analysis of this is that we are stuck as a society by always wanting to be the best and not looking out for others. The mentality of all men for themselves has spread in our society. I was thinking we are always competing in life. Whether it is for a job or a spot in a class, we are always competing. This competition creates this mentality that it is better to be the killer than the killed. The constricted definition of the self that Jensen speaks about relates to the workbook from class. When it speaks about sexuality and how there isn’t just male or female when there are many different colors of the rainbow. As a society we shouldn’t have to be constricted to what they want us to identify with. We need to break out of our ‘concentration camp’ and create our own identity without the help of society judging us. In the chapter Economics, Jensen writes about the fact that money rules all. He speaks about how everything in life turns into a money exchange. â€Å"I’d like three books, two packages of chicken McNuggets, and a blow to go, please. That which it is possible to reduce to a commodity and sell, is. That which can’t, is either (by definition) devalued, ignored, or simply destroyed (139)†. Jensen is trying to show the reader that everything has a relation to money. We need money in order to do the many things in life such as travel yet there are things that we don’t need money for. Here’s the problem: in this tidy world of economic categories, there’s no room for love, joy, mystery, for the sometimes confused and confusing, sometimes clear and clarifying, sometimes beautiful, sometimes magical suction of body on body, skin on skin soul on soul (139). †How I see this quote is that Jensen is saying we are so consumed in getting more money that we don’t have time for the things that really matter in our life li ke love and happiness. I can see where Jensen is coming from. I think our society is stuck into thinking that money is a priority. I think it is important because we do need money to survive yet we shouldn’t let money run our lives. The first quote shows how we see money as a constraint to happiness, love, and mystery. This reminds me of the discussion that we had in class on how we would like to travel the world when we graduate yet we are not able to because of the constraint of money and getting left behind in this ‘rat race’. We have all these obligations one after another that we are not able to pursue the things we really want to. Jensen brings a lot of good questions to mind while reading his novel. He is not afraid to say what he believes is happening to our society even though it seems like our society is corrupt. His thought on relationships opens up my window to knowing how easily people can ‘stab’ each other in the back in order to be the killer not the killed. His topic of money in our society shows how we are truly materialistic. We must give everything a dollar value and if it doesn’t have a dollar value then it is not valued. How much is happiness? How to cite A Language Older Than Words, Essays