Studying Contagious Yawning Might Help Us Build Better Societies

[Potoooooooo]

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com...s-yawning-can-help-us-build-better-societies/


We often turn to dogs and to chimpanzees to understand our species. Chimpanzees are our closest relatives (with bonobos), while centuries of selective breeding have turned dogs into a species uniquely suited to comprehend our own social cues. If anybody can help us understand contagious yawning, it’s them. This week, primatologists Matthew Campbell and Frans de Waal of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University added a new chapter to the ongoing story of contagious yawning.

 

[Elixir]

Have you tried showing a bunch of people your user name?

I think they should have checked out horses - I was amazed when I started noticing that the quarter horse I raised from a foal will yawn very demonstrably when he sees me yawning. So yeah - - there's some empathy component there IMO.