Go ahead and swear, it’s good for you!
From time to time, we all shout well-timed curse words or four-letter expletives. We release frustration and it feels good just to let off steam. Psychologists from Keele University in the United Kingdom and the United States’ University of Alabama in Huntsville now say we don’t need to look for an excuse to swear.
The power of swearing
A new study found that swearing can improve strength, focus and endurance. Our bodies have an edge that helps us tap into hidden reserves of strength and endurance when the pressure is on. The findings were published in the journal ‘American Psychologist’(opens in new window). “In some ways the research confirms what we know as common sense – that swearing can give us a boost when we need it,” lead author Richard Stephens, a psychologist at Keele University in the United Kingdom who led the research, told ‘The Telegraph’(opens in new window). “We can observe everyday examples of that (e.g. the weightlifter in the gym; the cyclist going uphill). Swearing at yourself can help with motivation and success.” The researchers asked 192 participants to do chair push-ups. They held their bodies over a chair on their arms and then pushed up and down for as long as they could. They had to perform the push-ups while repeating either a swear word of their choice or a non-swear word every two seconds. Those who swore lasted much longer than those who didn’t. They supported their body weight for a considerably longer period of time. After the experiment, the volunteers answered questions about their mental state during the push-up challenge. The questions assessed how much positive emotion they felt, how funny they found the task, how distracted they were and how confident they felt. The questionnaires showed that they felt more focused and became fully absorbed in the push-up exercise when swearing.
It’s all in the mind
To investigate how swearing helps us, the team merged the data from the experiments with outcomes from an earlier study. The results revealed that swearing seemed to enhance performance by boosting distraction, self-confidence and complete absorption. “In many situations, people hold themselves back – consciously or unconsciously – from using their full strength,” Stephens explained in ‘The Guardian’(opens in new window). “Swearing is an easily available way to help yourself feel focused, confident and less distracted, and go for it a little more.” He added: “These findings help explain why swearing is so commonplace. Swearing is literally a calorie-neutral, drug-free, low-cost, readily available tool at our disposal for when we need a boost in performance.” The psychologists are looking into whether the confidence boost linked to swearing could help in domains such as public speaking. “There are lots of situations where hesitancy might be to our detriment. You could go into a quiet room, go for it swearing for a minute and then go out and give your talk. I bet people do it already.” Stephens warned that swearing is an approach that carries a certain amount of risk, too. “You’re never quite sure when you use a swearword how it’s going to land. You have to know your audience and who is around. You could land yourself in hot water if you swear inappropriately.”