When They Cry: Tears Facilitate Responses toward Members of Socially Disadvantaged Groups

Emotional tears are vehicles for bonding between individuals, even with those belonging to different social categories. Yet, little is known about the reactions they provoke towards members of underprivileged groups such as immigrants or the explanatory mechanisms of their effects. Across three experiments (with 548 adults) using standardized images of emotional displays, we tested the effects of tears on cognitive inferences (of warmth and competence) and affective responses (such as compassion or discomfort), and indirectly on self-reported prosocial behavioral tendencies towards an immigrant male. We observed that, compared to non-tearful (i.e., both neutral and sad) expressions, a tearful immigrant is perceived as warmer but not as less competent (except for Study 3). Moreover, observers felt more compassion (but not discomfort or trust) in response to the tears of an immigrant, compared to his non-tearful displays. In Study 3, we found similar effects of tears on other self-transcendent emotions such as feeling moved or tenderness. Observers were also more prone to approach a tearful immigrant than a non-tearful one, as well as more willing to donate money, but not volunteer, to provide him assistance. Finally, inferred warmth and self-transcendent emotions explained the effects of tears on approach and donation intentions. This study highlights the need for the study of emotion expression in the context of interethnic and more broadly intergroup relations and the effects of emotional tears beyond the willingness to provide immediate succor. We also discuss implications that tears have for promoting different types of solidarity with members of underprivileged groups such as immigrants.