Adult Crying: A Model and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Crying is one of the most powerfully compelling forms of human emotional expression, and yet, until recently, crying has received little attention from behavioral scientists. In this article, a model of adult crying is presented that describes the situations and emotions that elicit crying and characterizes the possible moderating effects of environmental, personal, and cultural factors on crying. Empirical data relevant to the model are summarized, and areas in need of further investigation are identified. In addition, the question of whether and how crying may affect mood and health is considered. It is concluded that the literature is full of ungrounded speculation and that research until now has been rather unsystematic and not sufficiently theory driven. Recently available data, however, pave the way for formulating a more comprehensive theoretical framework for generating testable hypotheses about crying.