Informative Speech Outline: Why is Yawning Contagious? I. Introduction It may be one of the deepest mysteries in human life.

But, why do you think yawning is a contagious act for every person? Have you ever yawned when someone just yawned? What makes it you to replicate the action when you see or watch someone yawning and you cannot control it? Or when you do calculations in Math, why do you yawn? Before we proceed with our speech, lets first check this YouTube video and see if it will make you yawn or at least would want to make you yawn. Play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U29SeSaO1V0 II. Body A. Trivia a. Yawning as contagious to animals Yes, it also occurs to animals! In 2004 study, experimentation was conducted to the nature of yawns between chimpanzees, and baboons. However, dogs are the most notable animals that started to yawn after just hearing their owners let one slip. b. Yawning as contagious between best friends According to 2012 research, yawns are most transmittable among the person whom you are really close with. As HuffPost Science reported, the closer you are to someone genetically or emotionally, the higher the likelihood to recur or do yawn. c. Yawning as a sign of disease There is something incorrect to a person when there are occurrences of excessive yawning because of rigorous sleep deprivation. According to National Institutes of Health, in some people, excessive yawning could be a response caused by the vagus nerve, which could point toward to heart problem. d. Fetus can yawn According to HuffPost Science, while researchers have beforehand become doubtful of open-mouth fetuses, a 2012 review of 4D scans was able to make a distinction between a developing baby opening its mouth and a "nonyawn mouth opening. B. Yawn a. Definition Yawning is an involuntary action that causes us to open our mouths wide and breathe in deeply. We know it's involuntary because we do it even before we're born. While contagious yawning starts when we are about four or five years

old at the point when children develop the ability to identify others emotions properly b. Process Generally speaking, yawning consists of three phases: first, a long intake of air, then a climax and finally a rapid exhalation, which may or may not be accompanied by stretching. After yawning, you generally experience a sense of well-being and relaxation and feel much more present in and aware of your body than before a yawn. c. Theories i. Physiological 1. Fixed Action Pattern A sequence of behavioral acts triggered by a releasing stimulus that is unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated. Think of it as a reflex. Your yawn makes me yawn. Once this reflex has triggered it must run its course. Have you ever tried to stop a yawn once it has begun? Its impossible. 2. Non-conscious Mimicry The chameleon effect occurs when you imitate someones behavior without knowing it, a subtle and unintentional copycat maneuver. People tend to mimic each others postures. If you are seated across from someone with their legs crossed, you might cross your own legs. This hypothesis suggests that when we yawn, we see someone else yawn because we are unconsciously copying his or her behavior. Scientists believe that this chameleon effect is possible because of a special set of neurons known as mirror neurons. 3. Mirror Neurons A mirror neuron is a neuron, which fires both when an animal performs an action and when the animal observes the same action performed by another animal. These neurons are important for learning and awareness. Neuroimaging studies using fMRI (functional Magnetic Residence Imaging) show that when we see someone yawn or even hear their yawn a specific area of the brain housing these mirrors neurons tend to light up, which in turn causes us to respond the same action. ii. Psychological 1. Empathy The ability to understand what someone else is feeling and partakes in their emotion. A crucial ability for social animals like us. Recently, scientists have found that a subset of mirror

neurons allows us to emphatize with others feelings at a deeper level. Scientists discovered this empathetic response to yawning while testing the first theory earlier mentioned fixed action pattern. The study was set-up to show that dogs would enact the yawn reflex at the mere sound of a human yawn. Dogs yawn more frequently on familiar yawns such as from their owners than at unfamiliar yawns from strangers. III. Conclusion Still, while neuroscientific studies aim to prove that contagious yawning is based on this capacity for empathy more researches are needed to shed light on what exactly is going on. Its possible that the answer lies in another hypotheses altogether. Next time you get caught in a yawn, take a second to think about what just happened. Were you thinking about a yawn? Did someone near you yawn? Was that person a stranger or someone close?

References: Castro, J. (2013). Why do We Yawn?. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/39862-why-do-weyawn.html Geggel, L. (2014). Yawning Not Contagious for Children with Autism. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=yawning-not-contagious-for-children-with-autism Klein, S. (2013). Facts About Yawning: Why We Do It, Why Its Contagious and More. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/facts-yawning-why-we-yawn-contagious_n_3398301.html Shmerling, R. (2013). Why Yawns are Contagious. Retrieved from http://healthyliving.msn.com/healthwellness/why-yawns-are-contagious Sohn, E. (2010). Why is Yawning Contagious?. Retrieved from http://news.discovery.com/human/health/yawning-social-behavior.htm Speciale, T. (2011). Why is Yawning Contagious?. Retrieved from http://www.laymanpsych.com/why-isyawning-contagious/