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Related Experiment Videos

Contagious yawning in chimpanzees.

James R Anderson1, Masako Myowa-Yamakoshi, Tetsuro Matsuzawa

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK. jra1@stir.ac.uk

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|April 2, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Chimpanzees exhibit contagious yawning, mirroring human responses. This suggests advanced self-awareness and empathy in apes, as yawning frequency increased when viewing others yawn.

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Area of Science:

  • Primatology
  • Ethology
  • Cognitive Ethology

Background:

  • Contagious yawning, a phenomenon observed in humans, is linked to empathy and social bonding.
  • Understanding contagious yawning in non-human primates can offer insights into the evolution of empathy and social cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether chimpanzees exhibit contagious yawning in response to visual stimuli.
  • To explore the potential link between contagious yawning and empathic abilities in chimpanzees.

Main Methods:

  • Six adult female chimpanzees were exposed to video stimuli of yawning and non-yawning chimpanzee facial expressions.
  • Yawning frequencies were recorded and compared between the two conditions.
  • Infant chimpanzees were also observed to assess developmental differences.

Main Results:

  • Two out of six adult female chimpanzees displayed a significantly higher frequency of yawning when viewing yawn videos compared to non-yawn videos.
  • No chimpanzees exhibited increased yawning in response to non-yawn facial expressions.
  • Infant chimpanzees did not show any yawning behavior during the observation period.

Conclusions:

  • Chimpanzees demonstrate a contagious yawning response, similar to humans.
  • This finding supports the hypothesis that contagious yawning is associated with empathy.
  • The results suggest that chimpanzees may possess advanced self-awareness and empathic capacities.

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