Ad Vingerhoets
| Ad Vingerhoets | |
|---|---|
| Born | Adrianus Johannes Josephus Maria Vingerhoets July 8, 1953 Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands |
| 🏫 Education | Tilburg University (MA, PhD) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 👔 Employer | Tilburg University |
| Known for | Research on emotional tears, leisure sickness, nostalgia |
| 🏅 Awards | Bronze Medal of the Finnish Society of Psychiatry (1990) |
| 🌐 Website | www |
Adrianus "Ad" Johannes Josephus Maria Vingerhoets (born 1953) is a Dutch Experimental psychologist on emotions and well-being and an academic. He is an emeritus professor of emotions and well-being at Tilburg University, where he specialized in the study of stress, emotion, and quality of life.[1]
Vingerhoets is known for his work on the psychology and biology of crying and emotional tears.[2] He is also known for coining the term "leisure sickness" to describe the phenomenon of individuals becoming ill during weekends or vacations,[3][4] and for his research into the psychological function of nostalgia and homesickness.
Early life and education
Vingerhoets was born in 1953 in Hilvarenbeek, a town in the south of the Netherlands. He attended Tilburg University, where he completed his master's degree in psychology. He went on to earn his PhD from the same institution in 1985. His doctoral thesis was titled Psychosocial Stress: A biopsychosocial approach.[1]
Career
Following his PhD, Vingerhoets held academic positions at Radboud University Nijmegen and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He also worked with the Helen Dowling Institute for Biopsychosocial Medicine and the Health Council of the Netherlands. In 1990, he was awarded the Bronze Medal of the Finnish Society of Psychiatry for his research on stress.[5]
He eventually returned to Tilburg University as a professor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology. He remained at the university until his retirement in November 2019, delivering his farewell speech titled "The binding power of the tear" (Dutch: De bindende kracht van de traan).[6] Since his retirement, he has remained active as a researcher, author, and public speaker, including delivering a TEDx talk on the evolutionary function of crying.
Vingerhoets started the international conference series titled The (non)expression of emotions in health and disease, which takes place at Tilburg University every four years.[7]
He started and is the chairman of the Tilburg Science Café, where prominent Dutch and Flemish researchers are invited to share their work with a general audience, in a café setting with music.[8]
He is currently working on a new book on adult crying, with Dr. Naomi Weinshenker as a co-author. The book will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press by the end of 2026.[9]
Research
Vingerhoets has authored or co-authored over 400 articles in scientific journals and has authored and edited 19 books.[10] His work is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, combining psychology, biology, and sociology.
He is known for his scholarly output and citation metrics. His work has an h-index of 71 as of 17 December 2025 and has accrued over 17,000 total citations across more than 400 publications, according as to academic profile aggregators in the field of psychology .[11]
Emotional tears
Vingerhoets is best known for his extensive research into adult human crying. His 2013 monograph, Why Only Humans Weep, challenges standard evolutionary explanations for crying (such as the idea that it is merely a distress signal). Vingerhoets argues that emotional tears are a uniquely human trait that evolved to promote social bonding, empathy, and prosocial behavior in others.[12][13]
His research has investigated various aspects of crying, including:
- Gender differences: Investigating why women statistically cry more frequently than men, examining both biological factors (such as prolactin and testosterone) and cultural conditioning.
- The "relief" hypothesis: His studies have shown that crying does not always lead to immediate mood improvement (catharsis), and that the social reaction to the tears is a key predictor of whether the crier feels better afterwards.[2]
- Tears of joy: Researching the psychological underpinnings of why humans cry[14] during positive events.
Leisure sickness
In 2001, Vingerhoets and his research team coined the term leisure sickness to describe a condition where individuals develop symptoms of illness—such as headaches, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms—specifically during weekends and vacations when they attempt to relax. The condition is most frequently observed in individuals with high-stress occupations or those possessing perfectionist personality traits.[15]
Vingerhoets proposed a dual-hypothesis model to explain the variety of symptoms associated with the phenomenon:
- The "unwinding" hypothesis: This physiological model addresses the onset of infectious or acute symptoms, such as fever and flu-like conditions. Vingerhoets hypothesized that the body's stress systems (including adrenaline and cortisol) remain in a state of "overdrive" even after the external stressor is removed.[16] This delayed physiological transition can result in a temporary immune system vulnerability or a "let-down" effect.
- The competition of cues hypothesis: This psychological model explains subjective complaints like fatigue and vague physical pains. Vingerhoets posits that during high-pressure work periods, intense mental focus and external distractions prevent the brain from processing internal bodily signals. When the individual enters a low-stimulation environment (such as a vacation), the lack of external distraction allows these pre-existing physical signals to be perceived by the conscious mind.[16]
Vingerhoets illustrates this mechanism through the athlete analogy: an athlete may sustain an injury during a high-stakes match but remain unaware of the pain due to intense focus and adrenaline. It is only after the "game" (the work week) has ended and the athlete is in the dressing room (vacation) that the pain signals are fully felt and processed.[15]
Nostalgia and well-being
Vingerhoets has published work on nostalgia, arguing that it serves as an "existential resource." His research suggests that nostalgia is not merely a longing for the past, but a functional emotion that increases optimism and helps individuals find meaning in the present. This work often overlaps with his studies on homesickness. Notable publications in this area include studies on how nostalgia can foster self-continuity and regulate avoidance motivation and can also make people feel warmer and more connected with others.[17][18]
Health Psychology
In the field of health psychology, Vingerhoets has conducted research on the relationship between psychosocial factors and disease. This includes work on the quality of life among long-term breast cancer survivors and the development of assessment tools for measuring quality of life in clinical settings.[19]
Selected publications
- Books
- Vingerhoets, Ad (2013). Why Only Humans Weep: Unravelling the Mysteries of Tears. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191744723. Search this book on
- Vingerhoets, Ad (2021). De emotionele mens [The Emotional Human] (in Dutch). Prometheus. ISBN 9026354169.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
- Vingerhoets, Ad, ed. (2001). Adult Crying: A Biopsychosocial Approach. Routledge. ISBN 9780415645720. Search this book on
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Em. Prof. Dr. Ad Vingerhoets". Tilburg University. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Adams, Tim (14 April 2013). "Why do humans cry? A new reading of the old sob story". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ Vingerhoets, Ad (1 July 2001). "Weekend Woes". Psychology Today. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ Syal, Rajeev. "This article is more than 10 years old Tim Hunt's findings in lab disproved as stress expert says men cry more at work". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ "TEARS & CRYING: Why Do Only Humans Cry?". Authentic Parenting. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ "Farewell Ad Vingerhoets: The binding power of the tear". Tilburg University. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ Vingerhoets, A.J.J.M.; Boelhouwer, A.J.W.; F.J.J., Bussel. "The (non)expression of emotions in health and disease. Abstracts 1996". Tilburg University. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ↑ "Bestuur". Science Cafe Tilburg. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ↑ Weinshenker, Naomi. "Don't Cry Today". Psychology Today. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ "Ad Vingerhoets Research Profile". ResearchGate. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ "Ad J. J. M. Vingerhoets: Psychology H-index & Awards". Research.com. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ Vingerhoets, Ad (2013). Why Only Humans Weep: Unravelling the Mysteries of Tears. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198570240. Search this book on
- ↑ "The Science of Crying". Time. 16 March 2016.
- ↑ Dana G., Smith. "Why Humans Cry". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M.; Van Huijgevoort, M.; Van Heck, G. L. (2002). "Leisure sickness: A pilot study on its prevalence, phenomenology, and background". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 71 (6): 311–317. doi:10.1159/000065992.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Pennebaker, James W. (1982). The Psychology of Physical Symptoms. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-1461381983. Search this book on
- ↑ Routledge, Clay; Arndt, Jamie; Wildschut, Tim; Sedikides, Constantine; Hart, Claire; Juhl, Jacob; Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M.; Schlotz, Wolff (2011). "The past makes the present meaningful: Nostalgia as an existential resource". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 101 (3): 638–652. doi:10.1037/a0024292.
- ↑ Cheung, Wing-Yee; Wildschut, Tim; Sedikides, Constantine; Hepper, Erica G.; Arndt, Jamie; Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M. (2013). "Back to the Future: Nostalgia Increases Optimism". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 39 (11): 1484–1496. doi:10.1177/0146167213499187.
- ↑ Mols, Floortje; Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M.; Coebergh, Jan Willem; van de Poll-Franse, Lonneke V. (2005). "Quality of life among long-term breast cancer survivors: A systematic review". European Journal of Cancer. 41 (17): 2613–2619. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2005.05.017.
External links
This article "Ad Vingerhoets" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Ad Vingerhoets. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
