Empathy Articles By Topic >  Chimpanzee Contagious Yawning Evidence of Empathy 
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The path to empathy http://www.replicatedtypo.com/science/the-path-to-empathy/3430/
	Published online at Plos one yesterday a study done at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center by Campbell and de Waal (2011) has found a link between social groups and empathy in chimpanzees as demonstrated by involuntary yawning responses. Contagious yawning is thought to be linked with empathy.

2011-04-07 - Chimpanzees' Contagious Yawning Evidence of Empathy, Not Just Sleepiness, Study Shows http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110406192511.htm

Contagious yawning is not just a marker of sleepiness or boredom. For chimpanzees, it may actually be a sign of a social connection between individuals. New research at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, may help scientists understand empathy, the mechanism thought to underlie contagious yawning, in both chimpanzees and humans. The research also may help show how social biases strengthen or weaken empathy.

2011-04-07 - Chimpanzees' contagious yawning evidence of empathy, not just sleepiness, study shows http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-chimpanzees-contagious-evidence-empathy-sleepiness.html

Contagious yawning is not just a marker of sleepiness or boredom. For chimpanzees, it may actually be a sign of a social connection between individuals... "The idea is that yawns are contagious for the same reason that smiles, frowns and other facial expressions are contagious," they write. "Our results support the idea that contagious yawning can be used as a measure of empathy, because the biases we observed were similar to empathy biases previously seen in humans."

2011-04-07 - Chimpanzees 'catch' contagious yawns from friends http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9450000/9450234.stm

Dr Matthew Campbell and Dr Frans de Waal showed the footage to 23 adult chimpanzees, which had been raised in two separate groups.  Each animal viewed several nine-second video clips of other chimpanzees either yawning or doing something else. They yawned 50% more frequently in response to seeing members of their group yawn compared with seeing others yawn.  The findings suggest that contagious yawning is a good empirical measure of empathy.

2011-04-07 - Sleepy or Empathetic: What Does Yawning Mean? http://scienceblogs.com/thoughtfulanimal/2011/04/chimp_yawn.php

You know that old phrase, "monkey see, monkey do"? Well, there might be something to it, except that chimpanzees aren't monkeys. (Sadly, "ape see, ape do" just doesn't have the same ring to it.) A new paper published today in PLoS ONE has found evidence that chimpanzees have contagious yawning - that is, they can "catch" yawns from watching other chimpanzees yawning - but (and here's the interesting part) only when the chimp that they're watching is a friend.

2011-04-07 -  Chimps Demonstrate Empathy with Yawns http://www.livescience.com/13597-chimpanzee-yawning-empathy-contagious-connection.html
	The researchers showed chimpanzees a video of other chimpanzees and found they yawned more frequently after watching a chimpanzee from their own group yawn than a chimpanzee from another group — evidence that they were more influenced by others with whom they empathized.

2009-09-15 -Chimps Catch Yawns from Cartoon http://www.livescience.com/5717-chimps-catch-yawns-cartoon.html
	Scientists don't know for sure why yawning is contagious in humans, but the phenomenon is recognized as real. Researchers suspect it has to do with empathy and is therefore similar to our propensity to laugh (or cry) with others. Other primates are known to catch yawns, and last year a study revealed that dogs can catch a human yawn.

2011-04-07 -  Chimpanzee study reveals why yawning is contagious Humans and chimpanzees who yawn contagiously are more empathetic, according to a new study
	Scientists have long theorized that contagious yawning indicated an underlying empathy among individuals who share the yawn, much in the same way that seeing someone laugh or cry can make you feel happy or sad. Yerkes researchers Matthew Campbell and Frans de Waal have strengthened this hypothesis by observing the same effect in chimps.

Contagious Chimp Yawns Seem to Point to Human-Like Empathy *
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/04/07/contagious-chimp-yawns-seem-to-point-to-human-like-empathy/


Hugging benefits fractious chimps
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7603691.stm


Chimp Research Ties Yawning to Empathy
Ever wonder why yawns are contagious? Humans can catch yawns from other people, and so do a few other species. Discover Magazine reports on new research saying empathy is behind it all. "Chimpanzees, like people, can 'catch' yawns from others. But not all yawns are created equal, it seems; chimps are more likely to catch yawns from a chimp they know than from a stranger, a new study found."