India, Aug. 21 -- It is common knowledge that yawning is contagious, but not many are aware of why it is so. A 2025 article in Psychology Today defined contagious yawning as "the tendency of individuals to yawn after seeing, hearing, or even thinking about someone else yawning."

Studies have shown that about 40 to 60 percent of people exhibit contagious yawning when exposed to these triggers. The behaviour is not limited to humans alone, but has also been observed in other animals such as domesticated dogs, chimpanzees, bonobos, macaques, gelada baboons, and even parrots.

Yawning itself is an involuntary reflex action that scientists are still studying the cause of. When it comes to contagious yawning, the exact cause is being debated a...