tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post2648412409070405432..comments2023-06-05T11:51:38.383-04:00Comments on Evolutionary Psychiatry: The Power of a Woman's TearsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04429177284200775781noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-71678112800280767752013-08-21T03:30:02.233-04:002013-08-21T03:30:02.233-04:00Hmmm... Women’s tears decrease male sexual arousal...Hmmm... Women’s tears decrease male sexual arousal. Could this be a defense against rape? Those sneaky females! Women’s tears decrease male general arousal. Could this possibly decrease the severity of the physical or mental beating? Again, *sneaky*. Those poor ignorant ape-men.<br /><br />But now we can in good conscience ignore women’s tears, now that we know they don’t mean anything is *really* wrong.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-67736372090650736432012-10-03T15:11:50.212-04:002012-10-03T15:11:50.212-04:00You forgot the other power of tears. When a woman ...You forgot the other power of tears. When a woman cries, she can get help and support from anyone anywhere among the chivalrous white knights in the world. This is true in valid situations and also in situations where she wants to abuse her husband or lover and commit violence by proxy. For example if she is divorcing her husband and wants custody of the children, all she has to do is fake tears. If she accuses him to the police wrongly, and the police are in the man's own house, and she cries these tears, then they are on him like black tar. If he is a victim of abuse, and she cries in order to reverse the victim status, it will elicit sympathy. I have heard that women have bigger tear glands and narrower ducts, which make it easier for them to cry and more likely, and men have smaller glands and bigger ducts. Therefore, women can elicit sympathy and direct other people's behavior if it is based on good will. This is a true power and with all power comes responsibility and the possibility of abuse. This is certainly an evolutionary facet of tears I am sure. No I have not experienced this myself and am not bitter, but I have witnessed other men as victims of this and I observe the condition of things in society. This would be interesting to look into, in group psychology in evolutionary history in our hunter gatherer times, I guess. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-65981201179571370952011-01-08T17:25:33.125-05:002011-01-08T17:25:33.125-05:00Star Trek was right again!! Episode 68 Original S...Star Trek was right again!! Episode 68 Original Star Trek. Of course on the planet Elas the biochemistry differs.Thackrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05733462601434748276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-7070339514501558542011-01-08T14:01:16.662-05:002011-01-08T14:01:16.662-05:00Leon, it's "fun" if you're not i...Leon, it's "fun" if you're not in a class of oppressed people, like women, who have to deal with the fallout from these sorts of beliefs. Check your male privilege.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-13590971928320973052011-01-08T07:59:04.104-05:002011-01-08T07:59:04.104-05:00Yeah, but it is also FUN.
I just love the notion ...Yeah, but it is also FUN.<br /><br />I just love the notion of altruism vs reciprocal altruism.LeonRoverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484097018449402128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-9371934993920407412011-01-07T20:21:52.759-05:002011-01-07T20:21:52.759-05:00Yes, I agree that evolutionary psychology can be e...Yes, I agree that evolutionary psychology can be exceedingly irritating.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04429177284200775781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-28241355441996309442011-01-07T20:10:21.506-05:002011-01-07T20:10:21.506-05:00There's the studies which I'm talking abou...There's the studies which I'm talking about:<br /><br />http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/09.19/01-testosterone.html<br />http://www.news.wisc.edu/15550<br /><br />Lowered testosterone decreases sex drive. I bet it's because, as I quote from the article "Lower levels of testosterone may increase the likelihood that men will stay home and care for their wives and kids, while decreasing the likelihood they will go out drinking with the guys and chase other women."<br /><br />If they took tears form a baby rather than a woman, I hypothesize that they will have the same arousal-decreasing effect.<br /><br />Evolutionary psychology is a VERY INTERESTING TOPIC. But it's covered with tons of false assertions such as the belief that there's an "alpha male," the belief that women like high status men because they "can provide more resources for their child," the "testosterone indicator" myth, the belief that "humor is a sexual ornament," the belief that "men are attracted to high-status women" (although disproven by Matt Ridley in the later chapters of his book), and the belief that women like "soft" men during their non-fertile phases of their cycle. I have found holes in each one of those assertions.<br /><br />Famous evolutionary psychologists, by themselves, develop nonsensical theories. Yes, this includes Richard Dawkins, Matt Ridley, Geoffrey Miller, and Stephen Pinker.3D Face Analysishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07002380940176488169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-32320382122799210212011-01-07T20:07:18.805-05:002011-01-07T20:07:18.805-05:00The data we have is the data we have - I'm hap...The data we have is the data we have - I'm happy to see men cry too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04429177284200775781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-74363338461162419162011-01-07T19:51:02.762-05:002011-01-07T19:51:02.762-05:00Crying is a way for children to appear non-threate...Crying is a way for children to appear non-threatening during a confrontation. Tears in their eyes impair their ability to see. Therefore, crying impairs their ability to fight as they can't see clearly. Crying is a way for children to avoid confrontation from older, stronger people. <br /><br />Crying is a sign of submission. Because tears impair a person's ability to fight, crying means that a person resigns from the fight and is willing to submit to the winner.<br /><br />Women are less risk-taking than men. So they are more protective and cautious than men. Women cry more than men because they are more protective and less willing to risk confrontation.<br /><br /><i>Also, tears may be a quick way to diffuse a man's overall emotional arousal - it may be an ancient hormonal way to tell an aggressive man to back off.</i><br /><br />What do you mean? The experimenters didn't give out samples of tears from children and men. So I don't know if it's women-specific.<br /><br />I've seen a study which has found that men who have babies have lower testosterone than men who didn't have any children. Was it caused by the tears of the baby?3D Face Analysishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07002380940176488169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-25158005826212217812011-01-07T15:25:35.712-05:002011-01-07T15:25:35.712-05:00Hmm.... As a broke graduate student I donate blood...Hmm.... As a broke graduate student I donate blood for research (and $$) as frequently as they'll allow. Haven't seen any requests for tear donors, but I'll be on the look out! There are people looking for bone marrow donors for research, but I'm not willing to take that leap for extra beer money.vlprincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17599039244716203792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-5699082285797797972011-01-07T14:56:08.476-05:002011-01-07T14:56:08.476-05:00I have had a different experience with womens'...I have had a different experience with womens' tears. I used to supervise many women most of them expressed their anger with tears. Whereas men would raise their voice or shout when they got angry women would start crying.<br /><br />My reaction to their crying soon got to be: hand them Kleenexes, wait them out until they stopped crying and then continue the discussion as if nothing happened. It seemed to work.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09208548778259311459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-3869955553759588702011-01-07T14:52:58.558-05:002011-01-07T14:52:58.558-05:00Dr. Deans, thank you very much for this post and f...Dr. Deans, thank you very much for this post and for your blog. It is always a delight to come here and read.<br /><br />This is one of the those subjects that is so large, it is a challenge to know what to address first. I shall address the simplest aspects of the subject, which come to mind at this time, in this comment.<br /><br />It would be interesting to compare those who keep a Paleo diet and do not use petro-chemical fragrances with those who eat the SAD and use the petro-chemical fragrances.<br /><br />I lived in Europe for many years and often heard that the use of artificial smells covered up who a person was. One couple told me that part of their process of finding out if they fit together was to not use petro-chemical fragrances.<br /><br />The toxic effects of the fragrances in commercial cleaning products and toiletries is an immense problem. I can well imagine that some of those who come to your office are there due to the effects of what is in their laundry detergent, air freshener, hand lotions, antiperspirant, dishwashing liquid, dryer sheets, etc. I wonder how many ailments there have been since the advent of detergents.<br /><br />There is nothing as nice as homemade soaps and the smell of laundry hung in the sun. Nothing from a chemical factory could come close.<br /><br />Also, there is something very attractive about people who do not feel they need to hide who they are behind all those artificial smells.<br /><br /><br />Thank you again for your blog. I always look forward to your posts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-18621341314541267822011-01-07T14:46:38.078-05:002011-01-07T14:46:38.078-05:00According to the press coverage, the tears had to ...According to the press coverage, the tears had to be less than 2 hours old, so they had the women on call to come in and watch some movies and cry to have a constant fresh supply.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04429177284200775781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045634714760830992.post-7097071137683333492011-01-07T14:25:50.161-05:002011-01-07T14:25:50.161-05:00I agree that the researchers bring up some interes...I agree that the researchers bring up some interesting questions. What are the differences (if any) between emotional tears of sorrow vs tears of pain vs tears of joy. I'm guessing it's hard to to get a worthwhile volume of tears of joy! What about the tears of crazy teen girls when they see Justin Bieber?<br /><br />I've also wondered about how personal hygiene plays into attraction, though I generally contemplate how we tend to chose to wear fragrances that we enjoy (or at least I do, I assume this is generally the case), yet it seems that in studies that have looked at the attraction of scent, we tend to prefer scents of people that are genetically different than us. Are we therefore dressing ourselves up to smell like the person we in fact would be most (genetically) compatible with? If so, are we then repelling those who might be the best fit? Probably totally over analyzing this, but I find it fun to think about!vlprincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17599039244716203792noreply@blogger.com