Why Only Humans Shed Emotional Tears
Why Only Humans Shed Emotional Tears
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DOI：
10.1007/s12110-018-9312-8
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发表时间：
2018-06-01
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Gracanin, Asmir;Bylsma, Lauren M.;Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M.
流泪是人类普遍而独特的行为。直到最近，眼泪才得到科学家们的认真关注。在这里，我们总结了最近的理论发展和研究成果。进化的方法为眼泪的功能分析提供了坚实的基础。婴儿的哭声尤其如此，我们将在本文的第一部分讨论这一问题。我们进一步阐述了成人情感眼泪的前因和（内部和人际）功能。从这一概述中出现的主要假设是，哭泣演变为一种情绪表达，它发出痛苦的信号并促进同类的亲社会行为。此外，流泪可能会影响哭泣者的情绪和他/她对生活的看法，这主要是由于实现了眼泪的信号功能。我们还描述了仪式哭泣等文化现象如何很好地适应这一框架，因为它们通常旨在支持向有权势的人或神寻求帮助，并促进社会联系。
Producing emotional tears is a universal and uniquely human behavior. Until recently, tears have received little serious attention from scientists. Here, we summarize recent theoretical developments and research findings. The evolutionary approach offers a solid ground for the analysis of the functions of tears. This is especially the case for infant crying, which we address in the first part of this contribution. We further elaborate on the antecedents and (intra- and interpersonal) functions of emotional tears in adults. The main hypothesis that emerges from this overview is that crying evolved as an emotional expression that signals distress and promotes prosocial behaviors in conspecifics. Further, shedding tears may influence the mood of the crier and his/her outlook on life primarily as a consequence of fulfillment of the proposed signaling function of tears. We also describe how cultural phenomena such as ritual weeping nicely fit within this framework, as they often aim to support a request for help to a powerful person or deity and promote social bonding.