Fer cryin' out loud — There is a sex difference

Self-reported crying behavior of 307 female and 285 male university students was studied. Female subjects reported crying significantly more frequently and intensely than did male subjects. In all six interpersonal situations female subjects indicated greater likelihood of crying than did male subjects. Significantly more females than males indicated they would cry in 17 of 20 stimulus situations. Where there were significant sex differences in reporting of postcrying affect, a higher percentage of females than of males indicated that they experienced the feelings described. The sample, with few exceptions, viewed females as crying more frequently than males. Despite these sex differences, many evidences of similarity between the sexes in crying behavior were found.An earlier version of this article was presented at the Western Psychological Association Meetings in San Diego, April 1979.     

For Crying Out Loud—The Differences Persist into the '90s

The relation of gender to crying was investigated over a 15-year interval. The 1996 sample was composed of 523 undergraduates (293 females and 230 males). Forty percent of the sample described themselves as Asian, 32% Anglo, 19% Hispanic, and 7% African American. There were extreme similarities between the 1981 and 1996 samples in terms of reported frequency and intensity of crying and the gender patterning of crying behavior across stimulus situations. In the later sample, gender role orientation (as measured by the BSRI) was found to be associated with crying. Neither ethnicity nor socioeconomic status was significantly related to any of the variables examined. It may be that crying has not been significantly affected by changing gender role expectations in the last 15 years.