What triggers wanting to throw up / gagging when you see someone else throw up?
In: Biology
Usually is a sympathetic response because of “mirror neurons” with which we are empathetic to others emotional and physical states, but more often it is not the sight but instead the smell.
It is believed that responding to something gross like this is a means of self preservation. Because of how awesome nature is, it may recognize that the person next to you is sick, it’s possible they have food poisening and cause they are near you, you might have had the same thing or something near it, so it’s best to get rid of whatever you ate before you get sick too.
Humans evolved as social animals. Our ancestors shared food and water. Seeing a member of our social group throw up may mean the food we shared was tainted. So we evolved the instinctual mechanism that seeing someone emesis (vomit) primes us to do the same. Dogs have a similar instinct as they evolved in social groups as well.
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