The British University of Portsmouth explained why people get itchy under stress, and they start to itch. Man and primates in a nervous situation thus try to communicate their condition and prevent a possible conflict..

As the researchers noted, " Primates within their clans have developed a whole system of rules and gestures that are capable of preventing conflicts within such a system, and sometimes even saving the lives of weaker individuals..

The researchers observed the behavior of 45 monkeys in the wild and noticed that the test subjects scratched at different rates depending on the specific social situation.. The most intense scratching occurred when primates with opposite social status encountered. It was noticed that in half of the cases of approaching a conflict between an inferior representative and an alpha male, frank "

Now scientists understand the nature of another oddity, “contagious” yawning..

aspect. net.