• Question: why does reading the word yawn make me yawn

    Asked by 846utec47 to Paul, MarthaNari, Hannah, Alison on 23 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Martha Havenith

      Martha Havenith answered on 23 Jun 2015:

      Because you’re not a psychopath! Seriously – no one has found out yet why yawning (or even reading the word yawn) is contagious. But what has been found is that psychopaths don’t tend to yawn when other people yawn. Possibly because they have less empathy for other people, so they somehow don’t feel the urge to imitate the yawning.

    • Photo: Paul Brack

      Paul Brack answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      I guess if you read the word, then you’ll think about, and if you’re thinking about yawning, then you might well do it! It’s sort of as if the word ‘yawn’ is an advert, and you’re being influenced by it.

Comments