A new PLOS One paper discusses research that suggests individuals are not equally susceptible to the contagion effect of yawning. Previous research that noted this variability suggested a correlation with empathy, and pointed out that people with autism and schizophrenia -- conditions that both tend to impair empathy -- also demonstrate less contagion effect. The new study, however, finds no correlation between yawning and empathy across more than 300 subjects. In fact, the only trait that the researchers found that seems to closely link with susceptibility to yawning contagion is age: age was inversely related to susceptibility. Older subjects tended to be less susceptible. The effect is very stable across trials, as well, so it does look like a trait. Interesting, too, because yawning contagion frequently comes up in the most far-reaching discussions of mirror neurons. If some people are more or less susceptible to action contagion, does this suggest that they are also more or less prone to motor mirroring? sciencedaily/releases/2014/03/140314211843.htm
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 05:11:03 +0000
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