Austin-Smith explains that some story lines are designed specifically to generate certain emotions, such as "tear-jerker" melodramas. However, when asked about their reactions to the films, movie-goers said that what really got to them were the similarities between the characters' lives and their own.
"To a person who has experienced them firsthand, on-screen characters who lose a child, go through a bitter divorce or endure an illness may make us relive our own experiences through these fictional people," Austin-Smith notes. "Reminding us of our own problems can create major emotional responses in us."
As an example, one recent movie, The Hours, had a variety of characters whose personal lives struck chords with its audience.
Austin-Smith also found that young women just as likely to cry than those of older generations, and that age alone was not a good predictor of how a film may affect us. Furthermore, gender is not always a factor.
"Men do cry at films, too," Austin-Smith adds, "but our culture won't allow them to do so readily or easily in public places. Although, if it's a 'war buddy' film, society is more willing to let men cry at them, as a patriotic or gallant gesture."