Yawning through technical mediums Essay Example

video to induce yawns and enhance comprehension of yawning as a phenomenon. Despite proposed theories explaining yawning as a physiological habit, none have accounted for its diverse triggers. Therefore, investigating contagious yawning offers greater insight into this behavior.

Yawning and Contagion

Exploring the concept of contagious yawning further aids in understanding this behavior.

Understanding the principles of contagion also aided in selecting appropriate elements for the video created for the experiment. The current and generally accepted explanation for yawning is that it functions to cool the brain. During a yawn, stretching of the jaw to the face, head, and neck increases blood flow, which then moves spinal fluid and blood from the brain down as the individual inhales. This air intake provides a cooling effect on the fluids, thereby expelling warm blood from the brain and circulating cool blood to the lungs (Gallup, 2007).

According to the theory, people tend to yawn more often in colder weather. To test this theory, Andrew Gallup and a team of researchers from Princeton University performed two experiments. The first experiment involved using two distinct control groups.

A study was conducted to examine the impact of breathing through the mouth or nose while watching videos of people yawning on contagious yawning. The control group, who were instructed to breathe through their mouth, showed a 48% higher rate of contagious yawning compared to the group who breathed through their nose. This finding suggests that inhaling more oxygen for cooling purposes may have contributed to this difference (Gallup, 2007). The experiment aimed to investigate temperature changes during contagious yawning. In the second part of the experiment, one group held warm ice packs (100°F) on their forehead

while the other held cold ice packs (40°F).

According to a study, when viewing videos of individuals yawning, those with cold ice packs experienced a 41% rise in contagious yawning compared to those with warm ice packs who had a 9% decline. The experiment aimed to gain insight into the adaptive aspect of yawning. Although receiving positive feedback, Adrian Guggisberg and other doubters argue that using yawning as a temperature regulator is unnecessary since sweating provides an alternative cooling mechanism.

According to Guggisberg, if yawning were meant to cool the body, it would not be effective during times when it is most associated with fatigue or boredom. Guggisberg suggests that if yawning were a cooling mechanism, it would assist in reducing fatigue just as sweating cools the body. Additionally, "contagion" refers to both contagious diseases and behaviors. (DeNoon, 2011; Yoon, 2011).

Various forms of social contagions exist, such as laughing, sneezing, and coughing, as well as negative behaviors that can spread to individuals, including eating disorders, juvenile delinquencies, and even suicides (Sarnekci, 2008).

The spread of positive or negative influence between individuals, much like a contagious disease, is a phenomenon acknowledged by Walsh in 1912. This is known as emotional convergence and is influenced greatly by contagion, as stated by Arizmendi in 2011. Not only does contagion play a role in the social and behavioral environment, but also in the psycho physiological realm. Moreover, mimicry is closely related to contagion, where people tend to copy one another's actions and synchronize movements and expressions. This leads to emotional convergence between individuals, an idea supported by Arizmendi in 2011. In fact, Yoon in 2010 describes this process of 'catching' each other's

emotions as a natural occurrence during conversations.

The concept of contagion brings the phrase “Be yourself” to mind as it is ironic that individuals naturally mimic others in order to make emotional connections. This is evident in the practice of therapists, where contagion plays a significant role (Hofelich, 2012). Therapists need to balance their personal judgments while remaining connected with their own emotions. In Arizmendi’s article on contagion, the author introduces the concept of “mirror neurons”.

According to Hofelich (2012), a subset of multimodal neurons causes the same brain area to activate when both performing and perceiving an action. This means that the neurons in one person are mirroring those of another person, firing at the same time and in the same way. To create a video that induces yawns in participants, it is important to mimic and emotionally connect with them through empathy. Empathy is the ability to perceive and interpret the emotions of others from their perspective, and it is a crucial aspect of this research.

Arizmendi (2011) discusses empathy as a process, defining it as involving: (1) emotional resonance, (2) empathic knowledge gained from that resonance, (3) use of this knowledge to form an empathic response, and (4) temporary role identification with the other. This concept also has an impact on the contagious behavior of yawning in people. It is around the ages of 4-5 that children begin to recognize emotions in others, coinciding with the onset of contagious behaviors (Norscia, 2011).

Children who are affected by disorders in empathy or develop it late exhibit reduced correlation in contagious behavior. Studies using neuro-imaging support the connection between empathy and contagious yawning. According to Norscia's (2011) study,

the physiological concept of empathy networks and contagious yawning is explained by analyzing the activations of posterior cingulate and precuneus when viewing someone yawning. The negative covariance between amygdalar activation and subjective yawn susceptibility reinforces the connection between yawn contagion and emotional analysis related to face processing during social interactions. Additionally, emotional contagion is developed early between mother and infant, leading to the establishment of empathy in the following order: "pattern of kin > close friends > acquaintances > strangers" (Norscia, 2011).

To induce yawns in students at Clemson University, establishing empathy was crucial for the video's purpose. The content had to be relatable to the participants to elicit the desired reaction. Nonetheless, a study by Norscia (2011) showed that empathy is most effective in natural and sincere situations. Therefore, despite the video's intention to elicit yawns, it may lack genuine empathetic effects.

The intention behind the video is to recreate natural human behavior and emotions. However, the insincerity of the content may decrease the level of empathy induced. Additionally, check out the description of computer for more information. Clemson students who were portrayed as hard-working and tired were also captured yawning on camera.

The notion of contagious yawning is reinforced and the level of proximity is altered. The experiment involved participants who were not necessarily related or familiar with each other. Nevertheless, by narrowing the focus to Clemson students in the video, the degree of affinity shifted from unfamiliarity to familiarity. Thus, yawn contagion is confirmed by the social-emotional tie that exists among individuals (Norscia, 2011). The study examined subjects within their typical social environments.

Data was collected

covertly, with researchers remaining unnoticed by participants. All information gathered was anonymous to those being observed, who ranged from acquaintances to close friends in public locations and workplaces. Researchers used cell phones and laptops to surreptitiously record their observations of yawning behaviors over three distinct time periods (Norscia, 2011).

Within a full day, divided into three blocks from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm, 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and 7:00 pm to 1:00 am, two researchers recorded yawning activity. According to Norscia (2011), yawns can be triggered up to five minutes after being perceived. Therefore, the researchers recorded yawns in peaks of three minutes within close proximity to one another in an effort to minimize the likelihood of spontaneous yawning.

The researchers were solely studying instances of yawns being transmitted from one person to another.