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Updated: Jun 8, 2025

A Laboratory Method to Measure Contagious Yawning in Rats

A Laboratory Method to Measure Contagious Yawning in Rats

Published on: June 14, 2019

Contagious yawning and scratching in captive lemurs.

William Padilha Lemes¹, Federica Amici^2,3

¹Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary. williampadilhalemes@gmail.com.

Scientific Reports

|November 4, 2024

Summary

Behavioral contagion, like yawning and scratching, was observed in ruffed lemurs. This study provides the first evidence of contagion in this primate genus.

Keywords:

Attentional bias hypothesis Emotion Primates Ruffed lemurs Strepsirrhines

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Last Updated: Jun 8, 2025

A Laboratory Method to Measure Contagious Yawning in Rats

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Published on: June 14, 2019

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Published on: February 13, 2021

Author Spotlight: Marmoset Research - Scope and Challenges

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Area of Science:

Primate behavior
Ethology
Social cognition

Background:

Behavioral contagion facilitates social synchronization in many animals.
Evidence for behavioral contagion is abundant in Haplorrhines but scarce in Strepsirrhines.
Lemurs, as Strepsirrhines, offer a unique model for studying contagion evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate contagious yawning and scratching in black-and-white and red ruffed lemurs.
To determine if social integration influences the occurrence of behavioral contagion.
To expand understanding of behavioral contagion's distribution in primates.

Main Methods:

All occurrence sampling was used to record yawning and scratching events.
Observational data were collected on captive groups of Varecia variegata and Varecia rubra.
Generalized linear mixed models were employed for statistical analysis.

Main Results:

Lemurs observing yawning or scratching were significantly more likely to exhibit these behaviors.
Behavioral contagion was confirmed in the studied lemur species.
Social integration within the group did not modulate the likelihood of contagious behaviors.

Conclusions:

This study presents the first evidence of behavioral contagion in the Varecia genus.
Behavioral contagion is present in Strepsirrhine primates, broadening its known distribution.
Findings contribute to understanding the adaptive functions and evolutionary history of social behaviors in primates.