If you shed tears while watching a movie it is a good sign according to a new study. A loss of a loved one, a stressful event, a busy week at work? There are many reasons and situations that can cause a person to cry out of sadness, tiredness, anger, or even relief and empathy. “Some involve moral issues, such as altruism or good sense. At the same time, it has been found that people who shed tears frequently are seen as having greater moral integrity. They are seen as more honest, trustworthy, and sincere than others,” said an international team of researchers.
Watching TV
Four categories of tears
In a study, scientists wanted to determine if this perception reflects the truth. To do this, they recruited 2325 Dutch, Indian, and British adults. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their propensity to cry and were also asked to watch a film or read a book. During the intervention, the authors analyzed their behavior, especially crying, when confronted with 30 types of moral transgressions (lying, false confessions).
In the research, the team also identified four categories of tears. ‘Attachment tears’ are shed in response to events such as breakups and reunions, while ‘societal tears’ accompany conflicts within a group. ‘Compassionate tears’ are shed when we see others in need or suffering, and sentimental tears are those that occur when watching an emotional scene.
Criers are against moral transgressions
According to the results, published in the journal Social Psychological Bulletin, volunteers who admitted to crying at movies or when reading a book were part of the group that did not tolerate moral transgressions. They tended to be more likely to exhibit prosocial behavior, such as donating to charity or disapproving of lying. In this way, the researchers found that crying was linked to altruism and empathy and reinforced emotions and moral values.
‘Future studies are needed, but it seems that there might be something to the old notion that only good people cry,’ said the researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark
Still, more work needs to be done, but it appears that this study supports the idea that people who cry are likely to have a good moral compass and are likely to be altruistic.
References
Zickfeld, J. H., Kamble, S., Oostelbos, R., & Vingerhoets, A. (2022). Only the Good Cry: Investigating the Relationship Between Crying Proneness and Moral Judgments and Behavior. Social Psychological Bulletin, 17, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.32872/spb.6475
