Babies show no signs of succumbing to this well-known phenomenon called contagious yawning, which is catching among people, dogs and also chimpanzees.
Babies show no signs of succumbing to this well-known phenomenon called contagious yawning, which is catching among people, dogs and also chimpanzees.
According to researchers, yawning in toddlers and babies is spontaneous and they almost never yawn back until the age of five years when contagious yawning starts triggering a chain reaction. Given that contagious yawning may be a sign of empathy, researchers theorise that empathy and the mimicry that may underlie it develops slowly over the first few years of life. People who score highly for empathy are significantly more likely to show contagious yawning.
To clarify whether infants and pre-school children show susceptibility to contagious yawning, researchers conducted a study to trace the development of contagious yawning among children at various stages of social development. Mothers were asked to record when and how often their children yawned in the first part of the study.
It was noted that babies between the age group of six and 34 months were inclined to yawn the most on waking in the morning or after naps. However, they yawned on average about two times daily, which is nowhere near the seven to nine times per day that an adult yawns. Also, none exhibited signs of contagious yawning.
In the second part of the study, the researchers examined the yawning behaviour of 22 babies whose average age was two years. The children were shown video clippings of babies, animals, adults and even their mother's yawning. It was observed that videotaped footage induced yawning in only three of the 22 infants.
The results confirm that infants and preschoolers are much less susceptible to psychological influences on yawning when compared with older children and adults.
Previous study has established that contagious yawning is a behaviour that starts developing after the age of five years. By the time children reach the age of 12 years, this deeply rooted behaviour acquires the same levels as those found in adults.
According to researchers, yawning in toddlers and babies is spontaneous and they almost never yawn back until the age of five years when contagious yawning starts triggering a chain reaction. Given that contagious yawning may be a sign of empathy, researchers theorise that empathy and the mimicry that may underlie it develops slowly over the first few years of life. People who score highly for empathy are significantly more likely to show contagious yawning.
To clarify whether infants and pre-school children show susceptibility to contagious yawning, researchers conducted a study to trace the development of contagious yawning among children at various stages of social development. Mothers were asked to record when and how often their children yawned in the first part of the study.
It was noted that babies between the age group of six and 34 months were inclined to yawn the most on waking in the morning or after naps. However, they yawned on average about two times daily, which is nowhere near the seven to nine times per day that an adult yawns. Also, none exhibited signs of contagious yawning.
In the second part of the study, the researchers examined the yawning behaviour of 22 babies whose average age was two years. The children were shown video clippings of babies, animals, adults and even their mother's yawning. It was observed that videotaped footage induced yawning in only three of the 22 infants.
The results confirm that infants and preschoolers are much less susceptible to psychological influences on yawning when compared with older children and adults.
Previous study has established that contagious yawning is a behaviour that starts developing after the age of five years. By the time children reach the age of 12 years, this deeply rooted behaviour acquires the same levels as those found in adults.
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