'Contagious Yawning': Why are some People more Susceptible?

A recent study challenges the popular belief that yawning is "contagious."

In fact, according to the findings, researchers believe that yawning may actually decrease with age.

Researchers from Duke University found that after recording the number of times that 328 healthy individuals yawned while watching a three-minute video, some participants were more susceptible to contagious yawns, with the number of yawns per person ranging from zero to 15. Contagious yawns are typically documented when someone is thinking, seeing or hearing about yawning. While spontaneous yawning on the other hand, is typically linked to being tired or bored.

Findings showed that age was the only independent factor that significantly influenced contagious yawning. In fact, researchers found that older participants were less likely to yawn as frequently.

"The lack of association in our study between contagious yawning and empathy suggests that contagious yawning is not simply a product of one's capacity for empathy," study author Elizabeth Cirulli, an assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Human Genome Variation at Duke University School of Medicine, said in a university news release.

The researchers also noted that contagious yawning may be less common in those with certain health issues, including schizophrenia or autism. However, getting a better grasp on the biology of contagious yawning may help researchers to better understand some of these disorders.

What do you think?  

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal PLOS ONE.