Social Reactions to Adult Crying: The Help-Soliciting Function of Tears

Abstract

The authors investigated how people believe they respond to crying individuals. Participants (N = 530) read 6 vignettes describing situations in which they encountered a person who either cried or did not cry. Participants reported they would give more emotional support to and express less negative affect toward a crying person than a noncrying person. However, regression analyses revealed that participants judged a crying person less positively than a noncrying person and felt more negative feelings in the presence of a crying person than a noncrying person. The valence of the situation strongly moderated these reactions. Overall, results support the theory that crying is an attachment behavior designed to elicit help from others.