Contagious Yawning Essay

A Brief Introduction

Yawning is a basic biological function that has been observed to be used by several species of multiple classes. Within that group of species is the human race along with most primates. That function has been part of human lives (and all the other species that use yawning) from the very start of their existence. However, because of people’s inability to understand its immediate effects on the human body, very few scientists have tried to answer any questions regarding yawning through systematic research. That is why the purpose of this project focuses on answering some of the most common questions related to the function of yawning. This function shall be examined from both a biological and psychological aspect. We are

As a result, a lot of people misunderstand the purpose of this particular mechanism. We will prove that yawning is a habit, which has been transmitted through evolution from apes to the human race. The two primary effects which make yawning such an important mechanism of our everyday lives, are; expression of feelings(psychological aspect) and direct consequences on human and animal system (biological aspect). It will be proved that there are more than one types of yawning as well as why people and animals tend to yawn.. Each and every type of yawn will be accessed along with their effects in this project. Finally, one of the most well-known type of yawning, the contagious yawning, will be discussed

That is because empathy is an important cognitive function, on which research is mostly done when associated to childhood and infancy. For that reason a recent study1 was conducted related to the contagiousness of yawning during childhood and adolescence, and disorders such as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and Asperger's Syndrome. The researchers studied 120 1-to-6 year olds . Although humans begin to yawn as fetuses the researchers concluded that contagious yawning starts after the first years of a human's life. These researchers also studied 30 6-to-15 year olds with ASD and compared them to two other groups of typically developing children. That process was completed with the respective comparison of children of the same chronological age between the three groups. After that the researchers concluded that contagious yawning does not occur to people with