If someone near you yawns, chances are that in a few seconds you will follow suit.

Babies, show no signs of succumbing to this well-known phenomenon called contagious yawning which is catching among people, dogs, and also chimpanzees, claims a new study.

According to researchers, yawning in toddlers and babies is spontaneous, and they almost never yawn back until the age of five when contagious yawning starts triggering a chain reaction.

Given that contagious yawning may be a sign of empathy, researchers theorize that empathy and the mimicry that may underlie it develops slowly over the first few years of life.

Lead researchers, Dr Jim Anderson, a reader in psychology
at the University of Stirling stated, "The exact reason why we yawn isn't really understood very well at all, but there is no doubt that as adults it is highly contagious.

"People who score highly for empathy are significantly more likely to show contagious yawning. What we know from other research is that one part of the brain that continues to develop through out childhood is the frontal cortex and that the frontal lobes play a role in social decision making and the ability to empathise.

"That would tie in with the gradual development of contagious yawning during childhood."

A two-part study conducted
Researchers conducted a study to trace the development of contagious yawning among kids at various stages of social development.

Mothers were asked to record when and how often their kids yawned in the first part of the study.

It was noted that babies between the age group of six and 34 months were inclined to yawn the most on waking in the morning or after naps.

However, they yawned on average about two times daily which is no where near the seven to nine times per day that an adult yawns.

Also, none exhibited signs of contagious yawning.

Findings of the second study
In the second part of the study, the investigators examined the yawning behavior of 22 babies whose average age was two years.

The kids were shown video clippings of babies, animals, adults and even their mother's yawning.

It was observed that videotaped footage induced yawning in only three of the 22 infants.

The authors stated, "The largely negative video results confirm that infants and preschoolers are much less susceptible to psychological influences on yawning when compared with older children and adults."

Contagious yawning develops after five years
Previous study has established that contagious yawning is a behavior that starts developing after the age of five.

By the time kids reach the age of 12, this deeply rooted behavior acquires the same levels as those found in adults.

Anderson stated, "Young children may also do less contagious yawning simply because they don't have the same pressures or social inhibitions as adults: They yawn where they like and when they like."

The study appears in the journal 'Biology Letters.'