Turns Out Wolves’ Yawns Are Contagious, Too

[vellavu]

Turns Out Wolves’ Yawns Are Contagious, Too

IN THE YAWNS of wolves, scientists have found a hint of emotional depths once thought restricted to humans and our closest ancestors.

Contagious yawning — the tendency to involuntarily follow suit when seeing another person yawn — is thought to be linked to empathy, drawing on some of the same cognitive mechanisms that underlie our ability to share the feelings of others.

According to a study published today in PLoS One, wolves yawn contagiously, too. The results suggest “that basic building blocks of empathy might be present in a wide range of species,” wrote the study’s authors, who were led by cognitive scientists Teresa Romero and Toshikazu Hasegawa of the University of Tokyo.

 

[Last Watcher]

I yawned when I looked at that first picture.......Really, I damn well yawned.......! 🙄

 

[GwenRaiden]

I remember reading somewhere that dogs also yawn as a way to cool their brain down when they are all hyped up. Buster yawns all the gorram time. I think he's legit broken.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Buster yawns all the gorram time. I think he's legit broken.

Living wid you I can't blames him.

 

[GwenRaiden]

Living wid you I can't blames him.

I am stressful to live with. And I do tend to become enraged when he farts and stinks the room out. He's part collie so he has a tendency to try to round me up like sheep when I'm walking through the house. Maybe that stresses him out, that he can never round his herd up because we all just ignore his efforts and shout at him for nearly tripping us up and killing us on a daily.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

shout at him for nearly tripping us up and killing us on a daily.

Maybe him just trying to have the place all to himself. Exterminate the humans. He does sound like he would belong in Black Thorn though.

 

[ChaseRules]

Maybe him just trying to have the place all to himself. Exterminate the humans. He does sound like he would belong in Black Thorn though.

Well you both belong to Black Thorn so who knows what he thinking.

And it looks like dogs/wolves are even closer to us then we thought .

 

[thetopher]

Interesting.
So when I yawn at somebody I'm empathizing with them instead of making a comment on their company. I'll have to remember that.

With wolves it makes a lot of sense, given their pack-nature. 'Yawn and your family yawns with you'.

I tried to 'fake-yawn' just now to see if my dog would join in, but he seems to know I'm just messing and refused.

 

[ChaseRules]

That I going to say to the next person that gets me boarded .

And sounds like you got a smart dog.