Yawning is ? or at least could be ? the basis of a new conceptual tool for anyone who conducts job interviews. For certain jobs, interviewers want to know whether an applicant does or does not have so-called “autistic” qualities. These qualities presumably let a person focus intently on a particular task. Depending on the job, such focus is either a very good or a very bad thing.
The key is presented (though without mentioning its use in job interviewing) in the September 07, 2007 issue of the British Psychological Society’s blog. There a headline says:
The study described there is “Absence of contagious yawning in children with autism
spectrum disorder,” Atsushi Senju, et al., Biology Letters, DOI 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0337, August 14, 2007. Dr. Senju is based at the University of London.
The study refers to this condition as an ?impairment in contagious yawning.”