Distress and Tears

Observations on crying in pre-school children have furnished evidence which corroborates the findings of Lund from studies chiefly of adults. He studied the conditions under which people weep and found that “tears, when affectively produced, are indicative of a mixed emotional state. Neither sorrow, dejection, joy nor elation are very effective, if at all, in producing discharge. Typically, it appears when a depressing or otherwise unpleasant situation gains a redeeming feature, or when tension and unpleasant stimulation is followed by pleasant or alleviating stimulation”. ¹