Introduction
For this week’s analysis paper I have chosen an article entitled “Social Reactions to Adult Crying: The Help-Soliciting Function of Tears”, which I felt would mirror well with this week’s chapter on social psychology.
Description of the rational for the study
To gain a better understanding into the functions of adult crying and the general social reactions of those who are around the affected individual by comparing how people respond to an adult who is crying as opposed to non-crying individuals and which situational factors can influence the reactions of those who are not the individual in emotional distress.
Statement of the Hypothesis under investigation
The theory of this study hypothesized that participants would judge …show more content…
Of the 530 participates included 58 who had previously completed first year psychology and 472 volunteers that responded to announcements for the research on crying. The breakdown of individuals involved in the study was 139 men from the ages of 18-84, 389 females between the ages of 17-79, with 2 participants who sex was unknown. More than half the participants were married or cohabitating with a romantic partner, and approximately one third were single, with the majority having at least a high school education. The questionnaires were written in the form of vignettes based on real life crying episodes, three of which are described as unpleasant situations (a funeral, causing a car crash, and witnessing someone dropping an expensive vase. For the three pleasant situations being awarding a colleague, a lottery prize winner, and finally someone who was a new parent. Within each vignette three factors were varied the first was if the person was crying or not crying, second was the sex of the person, and the third was the relationship if the individuals were strangers or …show more content…
The results indicate that a crying person was more likely to receive emotional support than a non-crying, and that persons are less negative towards a crying person rather than one who is not crying. Participants credit more negative characteristic to a crying person than to a non-crying and experienced more negative emotions in the presence of a crying person than in a non-crying. Participants judged a crying person to have fewer positive characteristics and to be more emotional, but at the same time the same participants provided more emotional support to and acted less aggressively towards a crying person than a non-crying. One of the most remarkable findings was the lack of regulating effect of the participant’s sex or the sex of the other person. The researcher offered an explanation stating that may be due to the fact that it has become more accepted and appreciate that individuals express their emotions than it had previously generations.
Summary of implications of the study
This study they discovered that crying is a communicative act with a high potential to elicit emotional support and inhibit aggressive behavior. Additional findings suggest that peoples own supportive behavior towards a crying individual may reflect their own egoistic motives, in other words they are more likely to reduce their own stress by helping
For this week’s analysis paper I have chosen an article entitled “Social Reactions to Adult Crying: The Help-Soliciting Function of Tears”, which I felt would mirror well with this week’s chapter on social psychology.
Description of the rational for the study
To gain a better understanding into the functions of adult crying and the general social reactions of those who are around the affected individual by comparing how people respond to an adult who is crying as opposed to non-crying individuals and which situational factors can influence the reactions of those who are not the individual in emotional distress.
Statement of the Hypothesis under investigation
The theory of this study hypothesized that participants would judge …show more content…
Of the 530 participates included 58 who had previously completed first year psychology and 472 volunteers that responded to announcements for the research on crying. The breakdown of individuals involved in the study was 139 men from the ages of 18-84, 389 females between the ages of 17-79, with 2 participants who sex was unknown. More than half the participants were married or cohabitating with a romantic partner, and approximately one third were single, with the majority having at least a high school education. The questionnaires were written in the form of vignettes based on real life crying episodes, three of which are described as unpleasant situations (a funeral, causing a car crash, and witnessing someone dropping an expensive vase. For the three pleasant situations being awarding a colleague, a lottery prize winner, and finally someone who was a new parent. Within each vignette three factors were varied the first was if the person was crying or not crying, second was the sex of the person, and the third was the relationship if the individuals were strangers or …show more content…
The results indicate that a crying person was more likely to receive emotional support than a non-crying, and that persons are less negative towards a crying person rather than one who is not crying. Participants credit more negative characteristic to a crying person than to a non-crying and experienced more negative emotions in the presence of a crying person than in a non-crying. Participants judged a crying person to have fewer positive characteristics and to be more emotional, but at the same time the same participants provided more emotional support to and acted less aggressively towards a crying person than a non-crying. One of the most remarkable findings was the lack of regulating effect of the participant’s sex or the sex of the other person. The researcher offered an explanation stating that may be due to the fact that it has become more accepted and appreciate that individuals express their emotions than it had previously generations.
Summary of implications of the study
This study they discovered that crying is a communicative act with a high potential to elicit emotional support and inhibit aggressive behavior. Additional findings suggest that peoples own supportive behavior towards a crying individual may reflect their own egoistic motives, in other words they are more likely to reduce their own stress by helping