• Question: Why do we cry?

    Asked by Sophie to Susan, Rob, Rebecca, Josh, Chris on 17 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by Ciara, AA7MUFC.
    • Photo: Susan Cartwright

      Susan Cartwright answered on 17 Jun 2015:

      – I am a physicist, not an evolutionary biologies. Treat this answer with caution. –

      As with many features of human behaviour, the answer to this does not seem to be well known. The sound made by crying, especially in babies, is clearly a good way of attracting the parents’ attention, but why it’s accompanied by tears is, as far as I know, not known.

    • Photo: Rebecca Dewey

      Rebecca Dewey answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      As far as we know, it’s just another way of communicating a feeling to other people, and encouraging the other people to offer support to the one who needs it. Crying together is a way of making relationships between people closer and stronger. But it’s still being researched.

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