Why is Yawning Contagious?

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Why is Yawning Contagious?


Contagious behaviors are reflexive, instinctive behaviors that are triggered when another individual performs the same behavior. These are involuntary reactions that require no conscious thought. If you see someone smiling, you may feel inclined to smile as well; if you witness someone yawn, you too find yourself yawning moments later. 

Psychologists believe the potential cause of this phenomenon is that the behavior is linked to our mirror neurons, special brain cells that are activated both when we are performing an action and when we observe other individuals performing a behavior. This display has also been seen in research on social scratching in mice. Zhou-Feng Chen showed a video of one mouse scratching itself to other mice, and the mice began their own scratching within five seconds.” This furthermore demonstrates that it's not about choice; it is an instinctive reflex. Yawning is one of these contagious behaviors that shows how deeply social learning is wired in our brains and also shows how we are always influenced by the actions of people around us without even realizing it. 


References:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-are-yawns-contagious-we-asked-a-scientist


Comments

  1. Santana WittenburgJune 28, 2025 at 3:53 AM

    This post does a great job explaining contagious behaviors in a simple and engaging way. I found the example of mice scratching particularly interesting—it really shows how deeply ingrained these reflexes are across species. The connection to mirror neurons helps make sense of why we automatically mimic actions like yawning or smiling without even thinking about it. It’s fascinating how our brains are wired for social learning and how much we’re influenced by others around us.

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