If you have a pet dog, you’ve probably seen it happen first-hand: You let outa yawn, and then your dog, looking at you, does the same.

A scientific study published Wednesday examined the phenomenon, confirmingthat human yawning is contagious to dogs and expanding the body of research onthe subject. The team examined prior data from six studies and a total of 257dogs.

Researchers have proposed a new hypothesis: contagious yawning is a reflectionof empathy. If a person (or a dog) catches a yawn, according to thishypothesis, it means they feel some degree of empathy for the original yawner.

But the latest study actually rejects the empathy-theory, finding no clearlink between empathy and contagious yawning.

The authors note that their research “provided robust support for claims thatcontagious yawning is present in dogs.”

Co-author Patrick Neilands, a PhD student at the New Zealand University ofAuckland who works in the Animal Minds research group, told Newsweek the studywas one of the most definitive in terms of proving that dogs can catch yawnsfrom humans.

The phenomenon of contagious yawning is “ancient” in evolutionary terms,Neilands said.

But what explains the phenomenon?

Scientists once hypothesized that the main function of yawning was“thermoregulation,” or keeping the brain cool. “Common belief is that yawninghelps to increase the oxygen supply,” Science Daily wrote in 2014, citingresearch led by a SUNY College at Oneonta, New York, psychologist.

In recent years, some scientists have posited that contagious yawning is areflection of empathy. If a person (or a dog) catches a yawn, according tothis hypothesis, it means they feel some degree of empathy for the originalyawner.

But the latest study actually rejects the empathy-theory, finding no clearlink between empathy and contagious yawning.

The authors wrote that their research “rules out using contagious yawning asan indirect signal of empathy in other animals.”

“Our finding that contagious yawning is not a reliable indicator of empathywas very surprising,” Neilands told Newsweek.

“Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any shortcuts in untangling theevolutionary roots of empathy,” he added. “However, while this isdisappointing, we hope our findings can act as an impetus for researchers todevelop better, more direct tests of empathy in non-human animals.”

While the team of researchers could not prove a connection between contagiousyawning and empathy, that doesn’t mean no connection exists, however. It justmeans that contagious yawning alone “cannot be taken as a diagnostic signalfor the presence of these empathetic processes.”

In other words, fear not that your dog doesn’t feel empathy for you. Justdon’t look to your pet’s contagious yawning as the primary indicator of it.

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