Men's Tears: Football Players' Evaluations of Crying Behavior

Guided by social constructionist and social norms perspectives on masculinity, this study examined male college football players’ evaluations of crying behavior. Using an experimental design, 150 college football players were randomly assigned to four conditions in which they read different vignettes about Jack, a football player who cries after a football game. Participants who read vignettes of Jack tearing up (vs. sobbing) tended to report higher levels of perceived appropriateness, typicality, and conformity with regard to Jack’s crying behavior. Participants who read vignettes of Jack sobbing after losing (vs. winning) a football game perceived his behavior to be more typical of football players. In addition, the findings are consistent with a model in which perceived appropriateness and typicality of Jack’s crying behavior mediated the association between intensity of tears (tearing up vs. sobbing) and perceived conformity to Jack’s crying behavior. Adherence to the masculine norm of emotional control, perceived appropriateness of Jack’s crying behavior, and perceived conformity to Jack’s crying behavior were significantly associated with participants’ self-esteem. Further, a combination of low perceived appropriateness and high conformity to Jack’s crying behavior was related to lower levels of self-esteem.

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