Compare and contrast essay Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast essay Essay Brown Brothers; How Negative Stereotypes Affect Polynesian And Maori In New Zealand My demographic is: high school cleaning ladies, fast food burger-making, factory boxpacking, rubbish truck drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, sober drivers and living off the pension joy riders — I am a dropout. These are all ideas raised and challenged by Joshua Iosefos 2011 viral speech, Brown Brother. Brown Brother is one of three texts that will be examined, compared and contrasted in this essay. The second text, Manurewa, is a short film based on the South Auckland murder of Navtej Singh, a liquor shop owner. The third text is Fish Heads, a short story written by Aparina Taylor, that focuses on a group of Maori boys who live in the city. The media is a huge culprit for the negative stereotyping that has been brought upon pacifica people. Brown people are more than what they are portrayed to be through media. Films such as Manurewa reinforce many of the negative stereotypes that have been brought upon Pacific people. The stereotype of brown people is a negative one, one of unemployment, one of crime, one of violence. In Manurewa each one of these stereotypes were portrayed. The men in the short film were all unemployed, all committed crime and all showed violence. â€Å"Bro Town, Sione’s Wedding, and do I have to mention the GC? Now I dont mean to condescend I mean these shows are great, dont get me wrong but can anyone explain: will there ever be a time when our representation goes deeper than putting our own people to shame?† Joshua Iosefo, in his Brown Brother speech, spoke about this issue – how the media represents brown people in a negative light. He highlights how these types of shows create and enforce the stereotypes that brown people now have to live by. While these shows are meant to entertain, this negative reinforcement only show the bad side of Polynesian and Maori people. One of the major themes of the film Manurewa is about people being trapped by low expectations and invisible boundaries. People can become trapped from attaining success, trapped from fulfilling their potential, and trapped from being heard. The message in the film Manurewa is that not all brown  people are bad, but the expectations that their stereotypes have created for them along with the people that they are surrounded with often leads to them making horrific mistakes. In this true story, a good person has been surrounded with unemployed, violent people and ultimately ends up committing a murder. In the beginning of the film the boy shows that he does have love and passion in his heart through feeding and nurturing the horse. After the murder the three older men are happy and excited but the boy was completely distressed about what he had done. These two scenes clearly show that the boy is a good person who simply made a bad mistakes because of the people that he was surrounded by. When Joshua Iosefo performed Brown Brother at the Tedx conference, he explained how brown people are trapped because of expectations, and surroundings. Meaning that the expectations that have been set from the stereotypes as well as the people that they are surrounded by impact greatly and almost trap brown people from success. He used a box as an example, where he explained that each side of the box needs to be kicked down in order for Maori and Polynesian people to succeed. People need to make the change themselves through their own actions. Brown people need to stop being what the stereotypes expects them to be and need to start proving that they are better than the stereotype. In the short story, Fish Heads the Maori boys are short of money but they do not let this stop them. All four boys are employed, they all work for the little money that they have and they show that there is no reason to live the way that the stereotype expects them to live. They are not violent, they do not commit crimes and they do not drink alcohol excessively. They respect people and they are happy living a simple wholesome life. Similarly, Joshua Iosefo talks about beating the stereotype, about standing up and showing that you are better than the stereotype. â€Å"You can do all things through Christ, Philippians 4:13. You are more than capable. And I don’t say that just to make you feel better, I say that because I know. Cause your creator told me to tell you so. Yo u will go places, you will tell stories, so do not feel afraid or alone for your God and your family and your home will forever be inside the marrow of your bones. So do not fret, do not regret. For where you go, you take us with you. Brown brother, do not be afraid to be the first, the first to graduate, the first to climb, the first prime minister,  or the first good wife — brown brother, do not be afraid to be the change. Not in skin tone or colour, but a change in mindset. From one brown brother, to another†. These are the powerful words that Joshua pointed at people living under the expectations that the stereotype has set for them. This powerful message is aimed st those who have been beaten by the expectations that have been set by the stereotype. The three texts, Manurewa, Brown Brother and Fish Heads clearly illustrate that there are negative stereotypes and low expectations for Polynesians and Maori in New Zealand. These stereotypes can lead people to feel that they are stuck and defined by their stereotype. Joshua Iosefos speech, talked of the stereotype that was his demographic but also said that Polynesians needed to be responsible for overcoming or changing this stereotype. In the film Manurewa, the inability for Isaac to escape from this cycle of negativity lead the once caring teenager to associate with bad people and ultimately lead to him murdering an innocent man. Whereas in contrast, the text Fish Heads showed that if people are r emoved from negative environments and influences, they are able to live in a non-stereotypical way.

An Argument Against Gun Control Essay -- Firearms Brady Bill

The Gun Control issue has sparked major controversy in America today. People who support gun control feel that guns are the reason for the soaring crime rate in our country. I disagree with the supporters of gun control. I feel that because of the black market, violent criminals being released from prison early, and the need to ensure personal safety, stricter gun control will have very little impact on violent crime in America. I believe that gun control works in theory, but not in real life. Sure, there are many violent crimes where guns are used, but most of these guns are obtained illegally, because the gun control laws enforced are not enough. With the growing gun-related crime rate in the United States today, many bills have been proposed to control guns. The most popular of these bans is The Brady Bill. The bill focuses on semi-automatic handguns. People wishing to buy a handgun will have to answer a federal questionnaire. The person’s background will be checked thoroughly for criminal records or records of past mental illness. The process should only take five days. This five day waiting period, or the â€Å"cooling off† period, is supposed to allow a person’s temper to cool down. The Brady Bill claims that people act on impulse. A person’s temper can interfere with his/her ability to think clearly; he/she is angry, so a gun is bought to get revenge. I have no problem with the Brady Bill, because it has stopped crime, but not enough. A bill was passed by former U.S. President George Bush which banned the production of nine types of assault weapons and the importation of forty-three types of assault weapons. Bush felt that assault weapons were responsible for majority of the violent crimes committed in the United States. Field & Stream writer, David E. Petzal agreed with Bush stating that, â€Å"Assault weapons are designed to put out a high volume of fire with a high degree of controllability. The only purpose these firearms have is to kill people† (27). Gun related crime is still very common. In the past, over 20,000 gun control bills have been passed through Congress, and crime is still running rampant through America’s streets. The National Firearms Act of 1934 was the first federal gun law to be passed. This act imposed a two hundred-dollar excise tax on the sale of fully automatic weapons. The Gun Control Act of 1968 made it a requirement for all... ... they are still getting them. As you can see, there is no way this controversy will be easily solved. There in no solution that will make both sides happy. Congress could pass gun control laws banning semi automatic handguns, and restricting other guns, but gun owners, including collectors would be unhappy. If Congress doesn’t pass gun control laws, the paranoid citizens of America would be unhappy. Taking the black market, self-defense, and collectors into consideration, the United States should not use gun control laws to try to reduce crime. Works Cited Bender, David L. Gun Control. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1992. Brister, Bob. â€Å"SHOT Therapy.† Field & Stream, May 1994, 82-84. Dolan, Edward F., Jr. Gun Control. New York: Franklin Watts, 1982. Hinds, Micheal deCourcy. â€Å"A Gun Dealer’s Story.† New York Times 6 June 1994: 13(A). Petzal, David E. â€Å"Reveille.† Field & Stream June 1994: 26-27 Simon, Jonathan. â€Å"The NRA Under Fire.† Public Citizen, July/August 1989: 9. Witken, Gordon. â€Å"A Suprising Ban on Assault Weapons.† U.S. News & World Report 16 May 1994: 31. Wright, James D. Taking Sides. Guilford Connecticut: The Dushkin Publishing

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen Nobody Likes a Dead Whore Finding her boyfriend tied naked to an upright bed frame, covered in blood, with a dead, blue dominatrix at his feet would be enough to rattle some women's confidence in the stability of their relationship. Some women might even take it as a sign of trouble. But Jody had been single for a number of years – she'd dated rock musicians and stockbrokers – and was conditioned to unusual bumps on the road of romance, so she simply sighed and kicked the hooker in the ribs – more as a conversation opener than a confirmation that the ho was dead – and said, â€Å"So, rough night?† â€Å"Awk-ward,† Abby sang, peeking in the door, then immediately swinging back into the hallway. â€Å"I forgot my safety word,† Tommy said. Jody nodded. â€Å"Well, that had to be embarrassing.† â€Å"She beat me.† â€Å"You okay?† â€Å"Yeah. But it hurt. A lot.† Tommy looked past Jody toward the door. â€Å"Hi, Abby!† Abby swung around the corner. â€Å"Lord Flood,† she said, with a nod and a little grin. Then she looked down at the body, her eyes went wide, and she swung back out into the hall. â€Å"How're your sister's lice?† Tommy said. â€Å"Shampoo didn't work.† Abby called, without looking in. â€Å"We had to shave her head.† â€Å"Sorry about that.† â€Å"It's okay. She looks kind of cool, in a ‘Make a Wish kid' kind of way.† Jody said. â€Å"Abby, why don't you come in and shut the door? If someone walks by and looks in, it might, oh, I don't know, freak them out a little.† † ‘Kay,† said Abby. She stepped in and palmed the door shut behind her, as if the clicking of the door latch might actually be the thing that would attract attention. â€Å"I think I killed her,† Tommy said. â€Å"She was beating me, and she wanted me to bite her, so I did. I think I drained her dry.† â€Å"Well, she's dead all right.† Jody reached down and tossed the blue hooker's arm up. It fell back to the floor. â€Å"But you didn't drain her.† â€Å"I didn't?† â€Å"She'd be dust if you did. Heart attack or stroke or something. Looks like most of her blood went on you and the carpet.†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Yeah, I sort of tore her throat out and she fell before I could finish.† â€Å"Well, what did she expect? You were tied up.† â€Å"You don't seem that bothered by it. I thought you'd be jealous.† â€Å"Did you ask her to bring you here and beat you until you snapped and killed her?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Did you encourage her to beat you until you snapped and killed her?† â€Å"Of course not.† â€Å"And you didn't get off on her beating you until you snapped and killed her.† â€Å"Honestly?† â€Å"You're naked and chained to a bed frame, and I'm just inches away from both a riding crop and your genitals. I think honesty would be a good policy.† â€Å"Well, honestly, the killing part was kind of a turn-on.† â€Å"But not sexual.† â€Å"No way. It was totally homicidal lust.† â€Å"Then we're okay.† â€Å"Really, you're not mad?† â€Å"I'm just glad you're okay.† â€Å"I should feel bad about it, I know, but I don't.† â€Å"That happens.† â€Å"Some bitches just need killing,† Abby said, looking briefly at Tommy, then realizing he was naked under all that blood, looking away quickly. â€Å"There you go,† Jody said. She stepped up and began to undo his restraints. They were double bands of fleece and nylon, with heavy metal shackles locked over them. â€Å"What did she buy these for, to handcuff a grizzly bear? Abby, check the body for a key.† â€Å"Nuh-uh,† Abby said, staring down at the dead blue hooker. Jody noticed that the kid was focused on the breasts, which were defying gravity, and apparently death itself, by standing there at complete attention. â€Å"Those aren't real,† Jody said. â€Å"I knew that.† â€Å"She was a very mean woman,† Tommy said, trying to help. â€Å"With really big but insincere boobs. Don't be afraid.† Abby tore her gaze from the dead woman's chest and looked from Tommy, to Jody, to Jody's chest, and back to the body. â€Å"Fucksocks! Does everybody have big boobs but me? God, I hate you guys!† She ran out the door and slammed it behind her. â€Å"I do not have big boobs,† Jody said. â€Å"Perfectly proportioned,† Tommy said. â€Å"Perfect, really.† â€Å"Thanks, sweetie,† Jody said, kissing him on the lips lightly so as not to get a taste of the whore's blood. â€Å"I think I saw her hang the key in Lash's Forty-Fucking-Niners hat rack by the door.† â€Å"I really need to teach you how to go to mist,† Jody said, retrieving the key. â€Å"Yeah, that would have helped me avoid a lot of this.† â€Å"You know the Animals sold you out, right?† â€Å"I can't see them doing that. She must have blackmailed them or something.† â€Å"Clint told the cops, too. Rivera and Cavuto had our loft staked out.† â€Å"Clint doesn't really count, though. He traded in all his moral credibility in this world when he committed to live forever.† â€Å"Amazing how badly the promise of immortality makes people behave.† â€Å"Like it doesn't matter how you treat people,† Tommy said. â€Å"There!† Jody finally got the shackle on Tommy's right wrist unlocked and started working on the left. They were heavy, but she thought that given the motivation of torture, she could have broken loose, or at least torn apart the bed frame. â€Å"You couldn't just snap these?† â€Å"I guess I need to work out.† He scratched his nose furiously. â€Å"So, should we hide the body or something?† â€Å"No, I think it's a good warning for your buddies.† â€Å"Right.† â€Å"What about the cops?† â€Å"Not our problem,† she said as she twisted the key in the lock and snapped the restraint off his left wrist. â€Å"We don't have a dead blue hooker in our apartment.† â€Å"That's an excellent point,† Tommy said, rubbing his wrist. â€Å"Thank you for rescuing me, by the way. I love you.† He grabbed her and pulled her to him, nearly tumbling over on his face when she stepped back and he encountered the resistance of his ankle restraints. â€Å"I love you, too,† she said, palming his forehead and pushing him back on balance, â€Å"but you are covered with skank oil and you will not get it on my new leather jacket.† In the cab, Abby pouted – sticking out her lower lip far enough that pink was showing above her black lipstick, making her look vaguely like a cat eating a plum. â€Å"Just drop me at my house.† Tommy, who sat in the middle, wearing one of Lash's Forty-Niners jerseys, put his arm around Abby's shoulders to comfort her. â€Å"It's okay, kid. You did great. We are most pleased with you.† Abby snorted and looked out the window. Jody, in turn, put her arm around Tommy's neck and dug her nails into his shoulder. â€Å"Shut up,† she whispered, so soft that only Tommy would be able to hear it. â€Å"You're not helping.† â€Å"Look, Abby,† Jody said, â€Å"it's not something that happens all at once, like in the movies. Sometimes you have to eat bugs for years before you become one of the chosen.† â€Å"I know I did,† Tommy said. â€Å"Beetles, bugs, spiders, mice, rats, snakes, marmosets, OUCH! Stop that, I've been tortured already tonight.† â€Å"You two are just into each other,† Abby said. â€Å"You don't care about anyone else. We're like cattle to you.† The cabdriver, who was a Hindu, looked in the rear-view mirror. â€Å"So what's your point?† Jody said. Tommy elbowed her in the ribs. â€Å"Kidding. Jeez. Abby, we care very deeply about you. We've trusted you with everything. In fact, you may have saved my life tonight.† Tommy reared back and looked at Jody. â€Å"Long story,† the redhead said. Then to Abby again: â€Å"Get some rest and come to the loft tomorrow at dusk. We'll talk about your future.† Abby crossed her arms. â€Å"Tomorrow is Christmas. I'm trapped with the family.† â€Å"Tomorrow is Christmas?† Tommy said. â€Å"Yeah,† Jody said. â€Å"So?† â€Å"The Animals won't be working. I have some issues with them.† â€Å"You were thinking revenge?† â€Å"Well, yeah.† Jody patted the flight bag on the seat, which held all of the money that the Animals had paid to Blue, almost six hundred thousand dollars. â€Å"I think you have that covered.† Tommy frowned. â€Å"I'm beginning to doubt the steadiness of your moral compass.† â€Å"Sure, I'm the one with skewed ethics, when you spent the whole night tied up and beaten by a blue dominatrix and then ripping her throat out.† â€Å"You make everything sound so sleazy.† Abby put her fingers in her mouth and whistled – shrill and nearly deafening in the enclosed space. â€Å"Hello, there's a cabdriver here. Would you two shut the fuck up.† â€Å"Hey,† Jody said. â€Å"Hey,† Tommy said. â€Å"Hey, you, little creepy girl,† said the cabdriver, â€Å"you will not be whistling in my cab again or I will be putting you out on the curb.† â€Å"Sorry,† Abby said. â€Å"Sorry,† Tommy and Jody said in unison. With the exception of the odd serial killer, and car salesmen who think of them as the perfect unit for measuring trunk space, nobody likes a dead whore. (â€Å"Yeah, you can get five-maybe six dead hookers in this baby.†) â€Å"She looks so natural,† said Troy Lee, looking down on Blue. â€Å"Except for the way her arm is bent under her – and the riding crop – and the blood everywhere, I mean.† â€Å"And she's blue,† said Lash. The other Animals nodded mournfully. It was turning out to be a stressful morning for the Animals: cleaning up the mess that Jody had made of the store, getting Drew to the emergency room to get his forehead sewn up where the wine bottle had hit him (they immediately passed around the painkillers he was prescribed, which help to take the edge off), then explaining the broken front window to the manager when he came in, and now this – â€Å"You're the one with almost an MBA,† Barry, the short balding one, said to Lash. â€Å"You should know what to do.† â€Å"They don't cover what to do with a dead hooker,† Lash countered. â€Å"That's a whole different program. Political science, I think.† Despite the dulling they'd given themselves with the painkillers and a case of beer they'd shared in the parking lot at the Safeway, they were all feeling sad, and a little frightened. â€Å"Gustavo is the porter,† Clint said. â€Å"Shouldn't he do the cleanups?† â€Å"Ahhhhh!† said Jeff, the tall ex-jock, as he thumped Clint on the head with a protruding knuckle. Feeling like the knuckle might not quite be enough, he snatched off Clint's horn-rimmed glasses and threw them to Troy Lee, who snapped them into four neat pieces and handed them back to Clint. â€Å"This is all your fault,† Lash said. â€Å"If you hadn't ratted Flood out to the cops, this wouldn't have happened.† â€Å"I just told them that Tommy was a vampire,† Clint whined. â€Å"I didn't tell them he was here. I didn't tell them about your whore of Babylon.† â€Å"You didn't know her like we did,† Barry added, his voice breaking a little. â€Å"She was special.† â€Å"Expensive,† Drew said. â€Å"S, expensive,† added Gustavo. â€Å"She probably could finally afford to go to Babylon,† said Lash. â€Å"Forgive them, for they know not what they do,† Clint said. Troy Lee bent and examined Blue, careful not to touch her. â€Å"It's hard to see bruising through the blue dye, but I guess she broke her neck. The blood must be Flood's. I don't see any marks on her.† â€Å"No bite marks, you mean,† said Clint. â€Å"Of course that's what I mean, nit wit. You know Flood's girlfriend did this, right?† â€Å"How do you know?† Lash asked. â€Å"It could have been Flood.† â€Å"I don't think so,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Tommy was tied up here – see the orange crap all over the restraints. And these were unlocked, not broken.† â€Å"Maybe when Blue let him go he killed her.† Troy Lee picked something off of Blue's face, as delicately as if he were taking her ghost. â€Å"Except for this.† He held a long red hair up where Lash could see it. â€Å"No reason for her to be here, if Flood was loose.† â€Å"Dude, you're like one of those CSI guys,† Drew said. â€Å"We should call those two homicide cops,† Barry said, like he was the first who might have thought of it. â€Å"And tell them to come help us with our dead hooker,† Lash said. â€Å"Well they know about the vampires,† Barry said. â€Å"Maybe they'll help us.† â€Å"How 'bout we move her to your apartment, and then call them?† â€Å"Well, what are we going to do with her?† Barry said, standing feet apart, hands behind his back, a brave Hobbit ready to face a dragon. Troy Lee shrugged. â€Å"Wait until dark, then drop her in the Bay?† â€Å"I can't bear to touch her,† Barry said. â€Å"Not after the moments we shared.† â€Å"You little puntas,† Gustavo said, stepping up and beginning to roll up the bloodstained rug. He had a wife and five children, and although he had never disposed of a dead hooker before, he thought that it couldn't be any worse than changing the diaper on a gloopy infant. The other Animals all looked at one another, embarrassed, until Gustavo growled at them and they jumped to move the heavy bed frame out of his way. â€Å"I never really liked her that much, anyway,† Barry said. â€Å"She really did take advantage of us,† Jeff said. â€Å"I just went along with you guys so I didn't ruin the party,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"I didn't enjoy even half of those blow jobs.† â€Å"Let's just put her in my closet until tonight, then a couple of us can sneak the bitch out to Hunter's Point and drop her off.† â€Å"On Christmas?† Drew asked. â€Å"Can't believe she took all our money and now she's going to ruin Christmas,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Our money!† said Lash. â€Å"That bitch!† Nobody likes a dead whore. â€Å"I do like a dead whore now and then,† said the vampire Elijah Ben Sapir, derailing a perfectly good theme. He'd snapped the whore's neck right before she was completely drained so there would be a body. â€Å"But one doesn't want to be too obvious.† He dragged the whore's body behind a Dumpster, and watched as the wounds on her neck healed over. He'd taken her in an alley near Tenth and Mission streets. He'd had the hood up on the oversized tracksuit he was wearing, so she'd been surprised when they'd ventured down the alley and he threw it back to reveal a very pale Semitic man. â€Å"Look at-chew. Thought baby was a playa – † the whore had said, her last words. She'd only had a hundred dollars on her, which, along with the tracksuit and a pair of Nikes, were the complete resources the ancient vampire had at his disposal. He'd come to the city in a yacht worth millions, filled with art worth millions more, and now he was reduced to making kills for petty cash. Of course he owned several homes around the world, and had stashes of cash put away in a dozen cities, but it would take some time to access it. And perhaps it wasn't so bad to have the wolf at the door, for a change. After all, he'd come to the City and taken a new fledgling in order to alleviate his boredom. (It's very hard to feel alive when you've been dead for eight hundred years.) And she had done that. He was not bored – and he felt very much alive. He walked out of the alley and checked the sky. Dawn was threatening – he had perhaps twenty minutes until sunup. â€Å"Where does the time go?† He crossed the street and was buzzed into a hotel with a sign that read for rent, by hour, day, or week. He could smell the cigarettes, sweat, and heroin on the desk clerk, and he kept his head down so the hood covered his face. â€Å"Do you have a room without a window?† â€Å"Twenty-five bucks, like all the others,† the clerk said. â€Å"You want sheets? Sheets are five more.† The vampire smiled. â€Å"No, I don't want to spoil myself.† He paid the clerk, took the key, and trudged up the steps. Yes, he felt very much alive. One really can't appreciate what one has until it's gone. And without a significant loss, how would one enjoy the process of revenge?

Why Are Yawns Contagious Theories and Studies

Every person yawns. So do many other vertebrate animals, including snakes, dogs, cats, sharks, and chimpanzees. While yawning is contagious, not everyone catches a yawn. Around 60-70% of people yawn if they see another person yawn in real life or in a photo or even read about yawning. Contagious yawning also occurs in animals, but it doesnt necessarily work the same way as in people. Scientists have proposed many theories for why we catch yawns. Here are some of the leading ideas: Yawning Signals Empathy Probably the most popular theory of contagious yawning is that yawning serves as a form of nonverbal communication. Catching a yawn shows youre attuned to a persons emotions. Scientific evidence comes from a 2010 study  at the University of Connecticut, which concluded yawning does not become contagious until a child is about four years old, when empathy skills develop. In the study, children with autism, who may have impaired empathy development, caught yawns less often than their peers. A 2015 study addressed contagious yawning in adults. In this study, college students were given personality tests and asked to view video clips of faces, which included yawning. The results indicated students with lower empathy were less likely to catch yawns. Other studies have identified a correlation between diminished contagious yawning and schizophrenia, another condition linked to reduced empathy. Relationship Between Contagious Yawning and Age However, the link between yawning and empathy is inconclusive. Research at the Duke Center for Human Genome Variation, published in the journal PLOS ONE, sought to define the factors that contribute to contagious yawning. In the study, 328 healthy volunteers were given a survey that included measures of sleepiness, energy levels, and empathy. Survey participants watched a video of people yawning and counted how many times they yawned while watching it. While most people yawned, not everyone did. Of the 328 participants, 222 yawned at least once. Repeating the video test multiple times revealed that whether or not a given person yawns contagiously is a stable trait. The Duke study found no correlation between empathy, time of day, or intelligence and contagious yawning, yet there was a statistical correlation between age and yawning. Older participants were less likely to yawn. However, because age-related yawning only accounted for 8% of the responses, the investigators intend to look for a genetic basis for contagious yawning. Contagious Yawning in Animals Studying contagious yawning in other animals may provide clues to how people catch yawns. A study conducted at the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University in Japan examined how chimpanzees respond to yawning. The results, published in The Royal Society Biology Letters, indicated two of six chimps in the study clearly yawned contagiously in response to videos of other chimps yawning. Three infant chimps in the study did not catch yawns, indicating young chimps, like human children, may lack the intellectual development needed to catch yawns. Another interesting finding of the study was that chimps only yawned in response to videos of actual yawns, not to videos of chimps opening their mouths. A University of London study found dogs could catch yawns from humans. In the study, 21 of 29 dogs yawned when a person yawned in front of them, yet did not respond when the human simply opened his mouth. The results supported a correlation between age and contagious yawning, as only dogs older than seven months were susceptible to catching yawns. Dogs arent the only pets known to catch yawns from humans. Although less common, cats have been known to yawn after seeing people yawn. Contagious yawning in animals may serve as a means of communication. Siamese fighting fish yawn when they see their mirror image or another fighting fish, generally just prior to an attack. This could be a threat behavior or it could serve to oxygenate the fishs tissues prior to exertion. Adelie and emperor penguins yawn at each other as part of their courtship ritual. Contagious yawning is linked to temperature,  in both animals and people. Most scientists speculate it is a thermoregulatory behavior, while some researchers believe it is used to communicate a potential threat or stressful situation. A 2010 study of budgerigars found that yawning increased as temperature was raised near body temperature. People commonly yawn when tired or bored. Similar behavior is seen in animals. One study found the brain temperature in sleep deprived rats was higher than their core temperature. Yawning reduced brain temperature, possibly improving brain function. Contagious yawning could act as a social behavior, communicating a time for a group to rest. The Bottom Line The bottom line is that scientists arent completely certain why contagious yawning occurs. It has been linked to empathy, age, and temperature, yet the underlying reason why isnt well understood. Not everyone catches yawns. Those who dont may simply be young, old, or genetically predisposed to not-yawning, not necessarily lacking empathy. References and Recommended Reading Anderson, James R.; Meno, Pauline (2003). Psychological Influences on Yawning in Children. Current Psychology Letters. 2 (11).Gallup, Andrew C.; Gallup (2007). Yawning as a brain cooling mechanism: Nasal breathing and forehead cooling diminish the incidence of contagious yawning. Evolutionary Psychology. 5 (1): 92–101.Shepherd, Alex J.; Senju, Atsushi; Joly-Mascheroni, Ramiro M. (2008). Dogs catch human yawns. Biology Letters. 4 (5): 446–8.