Every human behavior should be considered an adaptation to the ancestral environemnt.  The modern environment differs in many ways from the ancestral one.  Nevertheless, guidance is still possible from present experiences for developing a theory for the adaptive value of specific behaviors.

Crying is a pre-verbal way for babies and children to convey a need to parents, so it is easy to construct a theory for the adaptive value of crying in babyhood.  It is less obvious, however, if the same theory holds for adults.  The following quote from a newspaper article serves to illustrate that this theory applies in adulthood.

"Scott Williams, an Australian stand-up comedian, and his wife Angie wrote of being stranded in Munich, Germany, when the show they traveled with collapsed, leaving them with little money and no ticket home.  One day, Angie could no longer cope. She sat there in the middle of a Munich square crying when she heard a soft German male voice.  She looked up with tears rolling down her face to see a handsome and very smartly dressed young man standing above her.  The man - whom they came to know only as Echardt, a successful businessman - befriended them, fed them and gave them the fare back to Australia."

Who could challenge the adaptive value of crying in this specific circumstance.  It is easy to imagine that crying by adults serves to elicit help from other adults in a manner similar to this specific example.

QED

This site opened:  December 31, 2003.  Last Update:  December 31, 2003