Crying men are more likely to be believed, according to study

Respondents had to indicate how sincere facial expressions appeared to them - or whether, in their opinion, crying was just strategically rolling crocodile tears.

In two main studies, around 3,500 participants from Norway, Poland, South Africa, Canada and the UK were presented with pictures of faces, some of which had been edited to make the subjects appear tearful. In some of the images, the test subjects saw situations in which people were behaving manipulatively - for example, jumping the queue. The photos also showed faces with varying degrees of warmth. The participants were then asked to assess how honest they thought the people shown were.

Certain people were more likely to be believed

The results were striking in two respects: according to a press release on the study, tears only had a very small overall influence on how respondents perceived honesty in the photos. Faces without tears were also shown for classification purposes and the researchers point out that several factors had an influence on the assessment of honesty.

In two groups, however, tears were a factor that had a comparatively strong effect: in photos of men, who typically appear less warm-hearted according to the study, and in photos of women, who appear less warm.

For the latter, tears could be "more socially useful", concluded Monika Wróbel from the University of Lodz, according to a statement in the journal "PLOS One". Their crying would therefore be received as a more honest signal by the other person, who would then be more motivated to help the weeper. "It is possible that observers assume that there must be a real reason for men or less warm-hearted people to cry, which is quite unexpected."

Video from the department