Origin and Types of Emotional Tearing

Abstract

Objective

To understand why a wide range of states of mind are expressed by spilling tears.

Methods

465 different episodes of crying with tears were analyzed and their motivation interpreted in the search for a common factor.

Results

The only common factor in all tear-spilling episodes was a relationship with help: either requesting help or offering help. This leads us to speculate on the biological origins of emotional tearing.

Conclusions

1) The classical division of emotional tearing as either negative or positive is based on accidental characteristics and does not answer most of the questions. All kinds of emotional tearing are related to help, and can be classified as requring-help and offering-help. 2) Why do we spill tears when we are asking for help? When children need help because of hunger, fear or pain, they add tearing to sound and body language to symbolise their suffering. Accordingly, tearing was chosen as a symbol of suffering because the reaction was already present as a reflex response to physical pain when ocular trauma and inflammation occurred, as they did very frequently in mankind's past. Moreover, this sign is seen on the face, the most conspicuous part of the body. 3) Why do we spill tears when we are offering help? As humanity evolved and needed to express empathy and sympathy, i.e. an emotion diametrically opposed to requesting help, the same core symbol was used, though the facial and body language are different.