Final answer:
Response cries like 'oops' serve to express surprise, communicate an error, and initiate conversation. They are spontaneous expressions that convey emotions and draw others into a shared experience.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purposes of response cries like oops include expressing surprise or shock, communicating awareness of an error, and initiating conversation. These exclamations are unplanned verbal reactions that typically occur when people are taken by surprise, recognize they have made a slip, or want to acknowledge a situation in a social context. For instance, saying 'oops' after accidentally dropping something can alert others to a minor mishap, while at the same time showing the speaker's recognition of and, sometimes, chagrin over the error. Similarly, exclamations like 'wow' or 'oh no' can serve to express a broad range of emotions and to draw others into a shared experience, potentially opening up a dialogue about what just occurred.