Video-induced yawning in stumptail macaques (<i>Macaca arctoides</i>)

Paukner, Annika; Anderson, James R.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0411

Cited by 104 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Many of our chimpanzees have not seen or interacted with strangers of their own species since the groups were assembled decades ago, while others were born into the group and may never even have seen a chimpanzee stranger. While it is possible that the arousal of seeing strange chimpanzees may have suppressed the physiological yawn response [45] irrespective of an empathic connection, increased yawning is also a possible outcome of high arousal [46], including in a CY context [47]. Rather, given the pervasive xenophobia among wild chimpanzees, in which strangers are invariably treated with hostility [40], we think that it is more likely that antagonism inhibited yawn contagion to the unfamiliar chimpanzee stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Chimpanzees empathize with group mates and humans, but not with baboons or unfamiliar chimpanzees

Campbell

Waal

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Human empathy can extend to strangers and even other species, but it is unknown whether non-humans are similarly broad in their empathic responses. We explored the breadth and flexibility of empathy in chimpanzees, a close relative of humans. We used contagious yawning to measure involuntary empathy and showed chimpanzees videos of familiar humans, unfamiliar humans and gelada baboons (an unfamiliar species). We tested whether each class of stimuli elicited contagion by comparing the effect of yawn and control videos. After including previous data on the response to ingroup and outgroup chimpanzees, we found that familiar and unfamiliar humans elicited contagion equal to that of ingroup chimpanzees. Gelada baboons did not elicit contagion, and the response to them was equal to that of outgroup chimpanzees. However, the chimpanzees watched the outgroup chimpanzee videos more than any other. The combination of high interest and low contagion may stem from hostility towards unfamiliar chimpanzees, which may interfere with an empathic response. Overall, chimpanzees showed flexibility in that they formed an empathic connection with a different species, including unknown members of that species. These results imply that human empathic flexibility is shared with related species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Chimpanzees empathize with group mates and humans, but not with baboons or unfamiliar chimpanzees

Campbell

Waal

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…If the receiver yawned within the time window of 5 min after the yawning of the stimulus individual, the receiver response was considered as affected by the previous stimulus. Following the procedure used in previous experiments on yawning contagion in nonhuman primates (13,15), if an individual yawned outside the time window of 5 min after the previous yawning, the yawning event was not considered as affected by the previous stimulus and was included in the baseline condition.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In macaques (Macaca spp. ), yawning responses elicited by the video of unfamiliar monkeys yawning were accompanied by selfscratching, perhaps indicative of increased anxiety (15). Although those are the first attempts to investigate the phenomenon of contagious yawning in nonhuman primates, the evidence remains meager, at least in monkeys, and more data are needed to better understand the natural or naturalistic conditions under which yawning can be elicited and the possible social functions of yawn contagion.…”

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confidence: 99%

Contagious yawning in gelada baboons as a possible expression of empathy

Palagi

Leone

Mancini

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

186

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Yawn contagion in humans has been proposed to be related to our capacity for empathy. It is presently unclear whether this capacity is uniquely human or shared with other primates, especially monkeys. Here, we show that in gelada baboons (Theropithecus gelada) yawning is contagious between individuals, especially those that are socially close, i.e., the contagiousness of yawning correlated with the level of grooming contact between individuals. This correlation persisted after controlling for the effect of spatial association. Thus, emotional proximity rather than spatial proximity best predicts yawn contagion. Adult females showed precise matching of different yawning types, which suggests a mirroring mechanism that activates shared representations. The present study also suggests that females have an enhanced sensitivity and emotional tuning toward companions. These findings are consistent with the view that contagious yawning reveals an emotional connection between individuals. This phenomenon, here demonstrated in monkeys, could be a building block for full-blown empathy.emotional contagion ͉ matching behavior ͉ mirror neurons ͉ social bonding ͉ Theropithecus gelada

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“…Laugh- chimpanzees (Anderson, Myowa-Yamakoshi, & Matsuzawa, 2004), and (questionably) macaques (Paukner & Anderson, 2006), 1 despite the fact that a vast array of vertebrate species are known to exhibit spontaneous yawning (Baenninger, 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%