A linguist who is studying how a group of people use noises such as laughing and crying to convey emotional information is studying what?

Paralanguage

Explanation:

A linguist will study paralanguage, also called "vocalics", to see how emotional information is conveyed through deliberate or not conscious use of some pitch, volume, intonation in the way we speak.

This is important for expressing ourselves always carries some degree of emotion, and sometimes that element is more important than the actual meaning of the words.

While nonverbal communication can also be present in the form of certain facial expressions, or body gestures, these require not to speak. In paralanguage, the non-lexical aspects of speech like the intonation or pauses will further reveal the expressive aspect and emotions that are present in that message.