Studies of Psychology and Behavior ›› 2020, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (3): 346-353.

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A Peek into the Mechanisms Underlying Human Contagious Yawning

SU Jinlong1,2, XIAO Yao2, SU Yanjie2   

  1. 1. School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210024;
    2. School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871
  • Received:2020-01-06 Online:2020-07-17 Published:2020-05-20

哈欠传染的发展与演化:一项探索性研究

苏金龙1,2, 肖瑶2, 苏彦捷2   

  1. 1. 南京师范大学心理学院,南京 210024;
    2. 北京大学心理与认知科学学院,行为与心理健康北京市重点实验室,北京 100871
  • 通讯作者: 苏彦捷,E-mail:yjsu@pku.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金面上项目(31872782);国家大学生创新创业训练计划项目(201511001051)

Abstract: Contagious yawning was supposed to play a role in social functioning. However, relevant hypotheses have seldom received empirical support. In the current study, we aimed to examine the contagious yawning in two age groups and its psychological correlates. Results showed that contagious yawning existed in the college students but disappeared in the aged population. Moreover, we found that inhibition control covaried with contagious yawning. Besides, low-level physiological factors such as sleep quality and subjective sleepiness were more inclined to covary with spontaneous yawning rather than contagious yawning. The findings provide insight for further studies to explore mechanisms of human contagious yawing from both ontogenetic perspective and phylogenetic perspective.

Key words: contagious yawning, social functioning, inhibition control, evolution

摘要: 传染性哈欠可能承载着一定的社会功能,但实证证据还非常有限。研究收集了大学生和老年人两个年龄群体的传染性哈欠和自发性哈欠数据,测量了抑制控制和观点采择,同时采用问卷测查参与者睡眠状况等。结果发现:大学生表现出哈欠传染,但这种现象在老年人群体中不明显;传染性哈欠和个体的抑制控制能力存在共变关系;相比传染性哈欠,自发性哈欠更多与一些基本的生理因素(如睡眠状况、警觉程度)相关。结果为从种系发生和个体发生两个层面探究传染性哈欠的机制提供了基础数据。

关键词: 传染性哈欠, 社会功能, 抑制控制, 演化

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