Bulgarian men are the least weepy, crying only .43 times a month. People can't control when they cry. But Lutz says tears are often a culturally programmed response to certain situations. He cites a study of native Maori people in New Zealand which found that teenage boys who had been sent off to British boarding schools were no longer able to cry at key points during tribal ceremonies once they got home. The tears that had previously come so naturally had been schooled out of them.
Some animals cry.
Even if the animals did tear up, he adds, there's no way to know if the they were emotional tears or merely the result of dust in the eye. For every 12 books written about laughter, Lutz notes, there's only one on tears. So, for the most part, crying remains a psychological mystery. But even as scientists search for answers, says Lutz, sometimes you just have to let the tears flow. A weekly column about mental health and psychology.