Crying: A Biopsychosocial Phenomenon

Vingerhoets, A.J.J.M.; Bylsma, Lauren M.; Rottenberg, Jonathan

doi:10.1515/9783110214024.439

Cited by 47 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Crying has been a topic of growing interest for several years (Kottler, 1996;Nelson, 1998Nelson, , 2005Nelson, , 2008Vingerhoets, 2013;Vingerhoets & Cornelius, 2012;Vingerhoets, Cornelius, Van Heck, & Becht, 2000;Vingerhoets, Van Geleuken, Van Tilburg, & Van Heck, 1997). Clients report that crying in session has improved their relationship with their therapist (Zingaretti et al, 2017), but it is unclear how therapists' in-session tears impact the psychotherapy process.…”

Section: Main Findings and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although this idea has some empirical support (Frey, Hoffman-Ahern, Johnson, Lykken, & Tuason, 1983;, more recent research has suggested that this may not be the case. Rather, Vingerhoets and Cornelius (2012) proposed the notion that men may not actually be brought to tears less often; they suggested what might be happening is that they are "swallowing" their tears more often than women. If this norm were to apply to a therapy context, we would expect to see either fewer male therapists reporting crying in session or more reports of male therapists suppressing their tears.…”

Section: Main Findings and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A qualitative study of psychotherapists’ in-session tears.

Morgan

Williams

2021

Psychotherapy

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There is little empirical research on the topic of psychotherapists crying with or in front of clients (Blume-Marcovici, 2017); however, therapists crying in therapy appears to happen more frequently than previously believed (t' Lam, Vingerhoets, & Bylsma, 2018). Although many clients believe that crying in session improves their relationship with their therapist (Zingaretti, Genova, Gazzillo, & Lingiardi, 2017), it is unclear how therapists' tears impact the psychotherapy process. For example, as some research has suggested that tearful individuals may be seen as less competent (van de Ven, Meijs, & Vingerhoets, 2017), it is possible that therapist tears are potential detriment to psychotherapy. However, therapists' tears might also have a positive effect on the therapeutic relationship if they are seen as evidence of therapist genuineness. To more deeply understand therapists' experiences of crying during a psychotherapy session, 8 practicing psychotherapists of varying theoretical orientations were interviewed using Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, 2012;Hill et al., 2005;Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Overall, the therapists had a consistent positive perception of the consequences of their own tears, both on therapy in general as well as on the client-therapist relationship. However, they also acknowledged a lack of training in how to manage their own tears in session, confirming previous results (Blume-Marcovici, Stolberg, & Khademi, 2013) and suggesting that psychotherapists may not be fully prepared to manage tears in counseling. Implications for psychotherapists as well as directions for future research are discussed. Clinical Impact StatementQuestion: How do psychotherapists understand the role, function, and consequences of crying in session with clients? Findings: Psychotherapists generally reported that their tears were positive and helped deepen the therapeutic relationship, though they also expressed concerns about countertransference and a lack of training about crying in therapy. Meaning: In making decisions about when to cry or to suppress their tears, psychotherapists will need to assess on a case-by-case basis whether their tears, as a form of self-disclosure, are in the best service of the client and will enhance the therapeutic process or detract from it. Next Steps: Future research will be needed to help us better understand the impact of therapist tears on clients and therapeutic outcomes.

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Section: Main Findings and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Main Findings and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative study of psychotherapists’ in-session tears.

Morgan

Williams

2021

Psychotherapy

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“…In 1901, Patrick [ 2 ] concluded that swearwords are primarily used by soldiers, sailors, laborers, uneducated people, and criminals, and men make up the majority of these social groups. While swearing has been considered a predominately masculine activity, women now tend to swear as much, or even more often, then men [ 3 ]. Since swearing is considered taboo, these words are usually judged as shocking, and the swearer may be considered antisocial and offensive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Humans have been swearing since the emergence of language [ 3 ] and is quite common, with evidence suggesting 58% of the population swears “sometimes” or “often” and less than 10% of the population report “never” or “rarely” swearing [ 8 ]. Most often, it is the swear word itself that is considered taboo rather than the semantic meaning it conveys.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Swearing tends to be more tolerated in private settings and among peers as opposed to a more formal and public setting. Swearing can lead to tighter human bonds and create informal environments where people are more likely to be themselves [ 3 ]. Social groups depend on some degree of shared willingness to participate in risks or taboo practices, swearing being one of them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Frankly, we do give a damn: improving patient outcomes with swearing

Washmuth

Stephens

2022

Arch Physiother

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Background Words can change the way a patient thinks, feels, and performs. Swearing, or uttering a word that is considered taboo, is an often-ignored part of our language, even though over 50% of the population swears “sometimes” or “often”. If used correctly, within a biopsychosocial approach to care, swearing has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. Discussion Swearing can create tighter human bonds and enhance the therapeutic alliance between a patient and a physical therapist. Improvements in social pain, physical pain tolerance, and physical pain threshold can occur by strategic swearing by our patients. Even physical performance measures, such as power and force could be enhanced if patients swear. Conclusion Although the mechanism by which swearing is effective is unclear, swearing deserves attention in the physical therapy setting based on evidence indicating potential positive effects on patient outcomes.

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Women who cry to manipulate others face more backlash than men

Pittarello,

Motro

2024

Behavioral Decision Making

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Two studies and one pilot study (Ntotal = 531) explore how observers react to men and women who cry in either good faith or in bad faith (i.e., with intention to manipulate). Using role congruity theory as a framework, we theorize that crying perceived as manipulative is less congruent with female stereotypes compared to male stereotypes. Accordingly, we find that women who cry in bad faith evoke less empathy and more anger from observers, who in turn judged them more harshly and are less willing to support them on a series of organizational outcomes. The same pattern did not emerge for men, for whom crying in good or bad faith did not seem to matter. This is in line with the idea that crying is overall less acceptable for men. In sum, we suggest that crying can have negative repercussions at work. This calls for greater attention to crafting interventions that can reduce discrimination and biases, ultimately fostering more positive workplace climates.

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Crying: A Biopsychosocial Phenomenon

Cited by 47 publications

References 74 publications

A qualitative study of psychotherapists’ in-session tears.

A qualitative study of psychotherapists’ in-session tears.

Frankly, we do give a damn: improving patient outcomes with swearing

Women who cry to manipulate others face more backlash than men

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