Emotional Tears as a Social Signal

Emotional Tears as a Social Signal

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

The proposal that emotional crying evolved as a visible signal that invites others to respond with support.

What it is

A review by Asmir Gračanin, Lauren Bylsma and A. J. J. M. Vingerhoets proposes that emotional crying began as a signal of distress that encourages help. Robert Provine and colleagues found that faces with tears removed were read as less sad, and Janis Zickfeld and colleagues found, in 41 countries, that tears raised people's wish to offer support.

In effect

In the article on why we cry, it is the central answer: tears are partly a message to the people around us.

What it does not say

It is a proposal about function supported by rating studies. It does not say that crying is always a request for help, and it makes no health claim.

Sources

  1. Gračanin, A., Bylsma, L. M., & Vingerhoets, A. J. J. M. (2018). Why only humans shed emotional tears: Evolutionary and cultural perspectives. Human Nature, 29(2), 104-133.
  2. Provine, R. R., Krosnowski, K. A., & Brocato, N. W. (2009). Tearing: Breakthrough in human emotional signaling. Evolutionary Psychology, 7(1).
  3. Zickfeld, J. H., van de Ven, N., Pich, O., Schubert, T. W., et al. (2021). Tears evoke the intention to offer social support: A systematic investigation of the interpersonal effects of emotional crying across 41 countries. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 95, 104137.