日本学術振興会先端研究拠点事業
第４回HOPE国際セミナー

"Yawning in Primates: From Reflex to Reflection"

期日：２００４年７月２０日、１７：００−１８：００

場所：霊長類研究所（第１会議室が改装中の場合は第２会議室）

タイトル：「霊長類におけるあくび：反射から内省へ Yawning in Primates: From Reflex to Reflection」

講師：ジェイムズ・アンダーソン教授、英国スターリング大学心理学部

Summary:
I will present three sets of data concerning yawning in human and nonhuman primates. First, the ability of adult male macaques to voluntarily control the production of yawns will be described. This finding provides further evidence that monkeys may co-opt reflexive acts into their communicatory repertoire. Next, the development of contagious yawning in human children will be shown. Surprisingly, children below the age of 5 years do not show contagious yawning in situations known to induce the phenomenon in adults. 
It is possible that individual difference in empathy are related to readiness to show contagious yawning. Finally, I will introduce new data showing contagious yawning in chimpanzees. Like humans, chimpanzees show individual differences and a developmental change in this behaviour. I will speculate on the implications of these findings for the phylogenetic distribution of self-awareness and empathic ability.

References:

(1) On reinforcement of yawning in male macaques:
Louboungou, M., & Anderson, J. R. (1987). Yawning, scratching, and 
protruded lips: Differential conditionability of natural acts in pigtail 
monkeys (Macaca nemestrina). Primates, 28, 367-375.
Anderson, J. R., & Wunderlich, D. (1988). Food-reinforced yawning in Macaca 
tonkeana. American Journal of Primatology, 16, 165-169.

(2) On contagious yawning in children:
Anderson, J. R., & Meno, P. (2003). Psychological influences on yawning in 
children. Current Psychology Letters: Behaviour, Brain & Cognition, 11 (2), 
http://cpl.revues.org/document390.html

(3) On contagious yawning in chimpanzees:
Anderson, J. R., Myowa-Yamakoshi, M., & Matsuzawa, T. (2004). Contagious 
yawning in chimpanzees. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Biology 
Letters (in press).