Yawning is a reflex action that tend to be contagious— in the sense that if you yawn, there’s high chance that at least one out of the people near at that moment will also yawn automatically.
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Yawning is a reflex action that tend to be contagious— in the sense that if you yawn, there’s high chance that at least one out of the people near at that moment will also yawn automatically.
It is believed that the mirror neuron system is responsible for contagious yawning. I’ve also heard that mirror neurons are the reason why we enjoy watching other people play sports or have sex. As I understand it, seeing someone else doing something stimulates the same part of our brain as if we were doing it ourselves. It’s thought that the mirror neurons play a role in social learning, it is how we learn from the people around us in childhood, and it probably help us behave more empathetically in social situations.
You won’t find a definitive answer because no one is really certain. Some studies have suggested that it has to do with time of day, intelligence, or empathy. But other studies haven’t supported those theories. We do know that older people tend to be less susceptible to contagious yawns. We also know that, while yawning is a common thing among various animals, contagious yawning isn’t.