Table Of ContentWhy only humans weep
This page intentionally left blank
Why only humans weep
Unravelling the mysteries
of tears
Ad Vingerhoets
Professor of Clinical Psychology ,
Tilburg University,
Tilburg, The Netherlands
1
1
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Oxford University Press 2013
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First Edition published in 2013
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
ISBN 978–0–19–857024–0
Printed and bound by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of this work
are as complete, accurate and-up-to-date as possible at the date of writing,
Oxford University Press is not able to give any guarantee or assurance that
such is the case. Readers are urged to take appropriately qualifi ed medical
advice in all cases. The information in this work is intended to be useful to the
general reader, but should not be used as a means of self-diagnosis or for the
prescription of medication
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
Acknowledgements
Writing a book is seldom a solitary activity, and that is certainly true of this volume. Many of the
ideas articulated in this book result from discussion with others—with colleagues or friends, but
also with complete strangers after lectures. Also, in most cases data collection was performed
by others, including MA or PhD students, and previous versions of this manuscript have been
commented upon by many others. In short, a large number of individuals have in many different
ways contributed to the completion of the book.
Because so many have contributed, it would be almost impossible to thank everyone spe-
cifi cally and not overlook someone. I have therefore decided not to make such a comprehensive
attempt. Instead, I shall limit myself to mentioning explicitly those who have made the most
signifi cant contributions. If someone feels wronged, my answer is that he or she shares this with
many others.
First, I should like to thank Nico Frijda, who reviewed my fi rst draft very critically and who
has stimulated and inspired me enormously. In addition, he pointed out several mistakes and
warned me against some major misconceptions.
I also owe much to Karel Soudijn, who advised me that I should not try to write down every-
thing I know, as well as Lauren Bylsma and Rita Carter, who provided many extremely valuable
suggestions. Sue Finlay and, in particular, Jo Hargreaves were very helpful in correcting my
faulty English and converting it into clear sentences that are easy to understand.
Individuals who have played a major role in data collection and reporting on research fi ndings
include Marleen Becht, Anja Laan, Annemarie Cevaal, Lisanne Huis in ‘t Veld, Randy Cornelius,
Freddy van der Veen, and, in particular, Michelle Hendriks, Jon Rottenberg, and, again, Lauren
Bylsma.
I also want to express my gratitude to my colleagues Guus van Heck, Marrie Bekker, Jan
Scheirs, Ype Poortinga, Ruth Mark, and Fons van de Vijver, who were all co-authors of publica-
tions. In addition, I specifi cally want to mention Manfred Horstmanhoff and Ineke Loots, who
were extremely helpful in familiarizing me with the work of Pierre Petit and classic conceptions
of crying and tears.
Rinus Verkooyen was involved throughout in the adequate inclusion of references and text
editing, Yvonne Janssen skillfully created the graphs and made existing illustrations fi t for repro-
duction, and Henriette Faber assisted with text editing and the fast and effi cient delivery of
wanted documents and copies of articles. Of course, only I am responsible for errors, inadequa-
cies, or shortcomings of any kind.
Finally, this book could never have been fi nished if it had not been for the presence (and also
occasionally the absence) of those who are closest to me—my wife Tini, and my children Rens,
Bregje, and Meike. Their understanding, moderating comments, interest, distraction, culinary
pampering, and in particular their sense of humor and cynical comments, were both benefi cial
and stimulating.
I want to thank all of you!
Ad Vingerhoets
Tilburg
August 2012
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
1 Why only humans weep: introduction to the theme 1
2 The human nature of crying 1 1
3 Crying and adaptation: the hardware 36
4 Crying over the lifespan 5 5
5 The antecedents and context of crying 7 8
6 The intra-individual effects of crying 100
7 The social effects of tears 1 15
8 Culture and crying 1 39
9 Why some people cry more often than others 162
10 Male and female tears 187
11 Crying and health 205
12 Too many tears. . . 2 25
13 A cultural historical perspective of tears 2 37
14 Epilogue 2 60
Author Index 265
Subject Index 271
This page intentionally left blank
Epigraph
Lorenzo! Hast thou ever weigh’d a Sigh? Or study’d the Philosophy of Tears?
(A science, yet unlectur’d in our Schools!) Hast thou descended deep into
the Breast, And seen their Source? If not, descend with me, And trace these
briny Riv’lets to their Springs.
Edward Young, T he Complaint
