"Contagious yawning has always seemed a little silly, a party trick of the nervous system, but new research suggests yawns may be far more than quirky reflexes-they could be a built-in alarm system. According to evolutionary psychologists behind the study, yawns aren't just about fatigue or boredom. Instead, they may act as social cues that regulate group vigilance. Put simply: When one person yawns, the rest of us get a subtle nudge to perk up."
"Yawns, Spiders, and Cockroaches-Oh My! In this new study, psychologists tested whether watching people yawn would change how quickly participants could spot spiders and cockroaches hidden among distractor images. Using eye-tracking technology, they discovered that after seeing yawning videos, participants were faster at detecting both spiders and cockroaches and less likely to get distracted by irrelevant images. The fact that yawning boosted detection for both suggests that the effect may be broader than previously thought."
"Spiders are classic evolutionary threats-many are venomous, and our ancestors likely survived by spotting them quickly. Cockroaches, on the other hand, aren't deadly but still carry disease, making them a different kind of hazard. The fact that yawning boosted detection for both suggests that the effect may be broader than previously thought. It's not just lions and snakes that make us pay attention; even creepy-crawlies can trigger our evolved vigilance."
Yawning may serve as a built-in alarm system that regulates group vigilance. When one person yawns, others receive a subtle cue to increase alertness. Watching yawns speeds detection of spiders and cockroaches and reduces distraction, as measured with eye-tracking. Enhanced detection applies to venomous evolutionary threats and disease-carrying pests, indicating a broad vigilance effect. Social contagion of yawning can translate an individual signal into shared attention to environmental hazards, providing adaptive value for collective safety in ancestral and modern settings.
Read at Psychology Today
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