Why are yawns "catchy"?

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The yawn reflex is often described as contagious: if one person yawns, this will cause another person to "sympathetically" yawn.[3] The reasons for this are unclear; however, recent research suggests that yawning might be a herd instinct.[4] Other theories suggest that the yawn serves to synchronize mood behavior among gregarious animals, similar to the howling of the wolf pack during a full moon. It signals tiredness to other members of the group in order to synchronize sleeping patterns and periods of activity. It can serve as a warning in displaying large, canine teeth. This phenomenon has been observed among various primates. The threat gesture is a way of maintaining order in the primates' social structure. The contagion of yawning is interspecific (i.e., try yawning in front of your dog). Oddly, sometimes sympathetic yawning may be caused by simply looking at a picture of a person or animal yawning, or even seeing the word "yawn".

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Why are yawns "catchy"?

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