Why Do We Cry With Joy?
Christopher Philip
A group of scientists have recently postulated that breaking down in tears when you’re happy may be the body’s way of “restoring emotional equilibrium.”
In the study, they found that those who responded to overwhelming positive emotions with a negative one, tended to recover better.
In the study, the psychologists tracked emotional responses to scenarios including a happy reunion with a “cute” baby. They found that the ones who cried to this positive situation were more able to moderate the intensity of their emotions and do so faster.
They also found that the same people who are likely to cry at their child’s graduation will also tend to want to pinch the cheeks of a cure baby.
The research also describes situations where concert goes, particularly teen girls, will scream in horror at the presence of their favourite singer or when lottery winners break down in tears after scoring the jackpot.
“One’s appraisal that winning is a good thing, intense happiness and verbal expression would easily be described as positive, yet there is also an expression of crying which normatively expresses sadness,” say the researchers.
The researchers also say that there is some evidence that this happens in reverse. That is, strong negative feelings may provoke positive expressions.
For example, people often laugh when nervous or when they are confronted with frightening situations. Other times, particularly distraught people will smile in extreme sadness.
Resources
Clark, Margaret S.; Rebecca L. Dyer; John A. Bargh; and Oriana R. Aragón. Dimorphous Expressions of Positive Emotion: Displays of Both Care and Aggression in Response to Cute Stimuli. Psychological Science. 2019.