Boys Don’t Cry? Well, Only the Evolved Do

We shed tears when in pain, but what purpose does crying serve?

We shed tears when in pain, but what purpose does crying serve? “Crying is a highly evolved behaviour,” says Oren Hasson, an evolutionary biologist at Tel Aviv University. “My analysis suggests that by blurring vision, tears lower defences and reliably function as signals of submission, a cry for help, and even in a mutual display of attachment and as a group display of cohesion.” The shedding of tears due to emotions is unique to humans. In the past, researchers suggested that crying helps carry stressful chemicals away from the body, or that it simply makes us feel better, or that it lets babies signal health problems. Now Hasson points out that when tears blur vision, they could handicap aggressive behaviour. Hasson suggests it could be used to build and strengthen personal relationships. For instance, one can show that one is submissive to an attacker and, therefore, potentially elicit mercy from an enemy, or one could attract sympathy from others, and perhaps gain their strategic assistance.