A new study, however, has revealed that babies and young children are immune to "catching" yawns until they reach the age of five years old.
The surprising findings have shed new light on this mysterious phenomenon, which scientists describe as contagious yawning.
It has been known for decades that yawning can be infectious, leaving adults unable to stile a one if they see someone else opening their mouths wide in a yawning action.
More recent research has revealed that chimpanzees and even dogs can catch yawns from those around them, including from humans, but little is known about why we yawn and why it appears to be so infectious.
Psychologists at the University of Stirling, however, have now discovered that infants and young children are not prone to the contagious aspect of yawning. Instead, they only ever yawn spontaneously.
Dr Jim Anderson, a reader in psychology at the University of Stirling who led the research, which is published in the Royal Society journal Biological Letters, believes the findings will help to shed new light on how the human brain develops as we grow up and what makes us yawn.
He said: "The exact reason why we yawn isn't really understood very well at all, but there is no doubt that as adults it is highly contagious.
"People who score highly for empathy are significantly more likely to show contagious yawning. What we know from other research is that one part of the brain that continues to develop through out childhood is the frontal cortex and that the frontal lobes play a role in social decision making and the ability to empathise.
"That would tie in with the gradual development of contagious yawning during childhood."
In the study, Dr Anderson and his colleague Alisa Millen, studied the yawning behaviour of 22 infants and toddlers while they were shown video footage of other children, adults and animals yawning. They were also shown footage of their mother yawning.
The researchers found that the children did not yawn in reaction to the footage.
Read more at The Telegraph
More recent research has revealed that chimpanzees and even dogs can catch yawns from those around them, including from humans, but little is known about why we yawn and why it appears to be so infectious.
Psychologists at the University of Stirling, however, have now discovered that infants and young children are not prone to the contagious aspect of yawning. Instead, they only ever yawn spontaneously.
Dr Jim Anderson, a reader in psychology at the University of Stirling who led the research, which is published in the Royal Society journal Biological Letters, believes the findings will help to shed new light on how the human brain develops as we grow up and what makes us yawn.
He said: "The exact reason why we yawn isn't really understood very well at all, but there is no doubt that as adults it is highly contagious.
"People who score highly for empathy are significantly more likely to show contagious yawning. What we know from other research is that one part of the brain that continues to develop through out childhood is the frontal cortex and that the frontal lobes play a role in social decision making and the ability to empathise.
"That would tie in with the gradual development of contagious yawning during childhood."
In the study, Dr Anderson and his colleague Alisa Millen, studied the yawning behaviour of 22 infants and toddlers while they were shown video footage of other children, adults and animals yawning. They were also shown footage of their mother yawning.
The researchers found that the children did not yawn in reaction to the footage.
Read more at The Telegraph
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