I take it you don't buy the hypothesis that is sitting right there in the article? Contagious yawning is thought to be an evolved mechanism for keeping groups

I take it you don't buy the hypothesis that is sitting right there in the article? Contagious yawning is thought to be an evolved mechanism for keeping groups alert so they "remain vigilant against danger," Gallup said. There's even a link to a related article on contagious yawning: http://health.howstuffworks.com/contagious-yawn.htm http://health.howstuffworks.com/contagious-yawn.htm The scientists described in this article took some pains to ensure they were studying spontaneous yawning instead of contagious yawning: He and colleagues Michael Miller and Anne Clark analyzed yawning in parakeets as representative vertebrates because the birds have relatively large brains, live wild in Australia, which is subject to frequent temperature swings, and, most importantly, do not engage in contagious yawning, as humans and some other animals do.