A new study from Keele University in the UK and the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the US shows that repeatedly swearing during high-intensity, short-duration tasks can make people appear more powerful and confident within seconds. The research team believes that this phenomenon does not result from a sudden strengthening of muscles, but from a psychological "state disinhibition", that is, temporarily relaxing inner restraints, thereby reducing hesitation and overthinking, making people more daring to "grit their teeth and persevere."
This is not the first time Richard Stephens, the leader of the study and senior lecturer in psychology at Keele University, has paid attention to the "swearing effect". As early as eight years ago, he published a study pointing out that roughing is related to pain tolerance and increased strength, but the psychological mechanism behind it was not clear at the time. In the latest research, the team further confirmed that the reasonable use of swear words can help people overcome tension and fear at critical moments, becoming a simple, low-cost psychological self-empowerment tool.
This study mainly verified the effect of "foul language blessing" through repeated experiments. In two rounds of experiments, the researchers recruited 88 and 94 volunteers respectively, and replicated a previous experiment involving 118 participants in design to improve the stability of the results. Subjects were asked to complete a simple but strenuous task: sit in a chair, use their arms for support, lift their body weight off the chair surface and maintain this position for as long as possible.
In this process, each participant had to repeat a word every two seconds: either a swear word of their choice or a neutral word, such as a common, emotionless word. What’s more, all participants did it once in each of the two conditions, allowing direct comparisons of performance differences between “exploding” and “non-explosive” performance in the same person. Results showed that across all experiments, participants were generally able to persist longer and showed greater physical endurance when repeating swear words.
However, the research team is more concerned about how swear words change people's psychological state. Therefore, participants also completed a series of questionnaires that assessed their level of confidence, concentration, distraction, emotional state during the task, and whether they felt less inhibited and less worried. Although specific indicators in a single experiment occasionally fluctuated, when the researchers combined and analyzed the data from the three experiments, a clear pattern emerged.
Comprehensive data shows that swearing can significantly improve participants' "feelings" and self-confidence, while at the same time reducing discomfort and the interference of negative thoughts to a certain extent. These psychological changes together explain the slight improvement in physical performance - swear words themselves do not "infuse strength", but they can help people temporarily enter a state of greater courage and less hesitation. Interestingly, humor, which some people had previously speculated may play a role, did not show an important effect in this study. In other words, it is not that "finding it funny" makes people more persistent.
Stephens points out that in many situations, people often “hamstring themselves” and miss out on opportunities to reach their potential because of fear of failure, fear of making a fool of themselves, or excessive self-monitoring. For example, people who are afraid of public speaking may have good opinions but are hesitant to speak up; athletes who have just recovered from injuries often have reservations due to hesitation and lack of self-confidence. In this context, moderate swearing can be regarded as a psychological "unlock" button, allowing the person involved to think less and do more in the critical few seconds.
The research team believes this finding has potential applications, especially in sports training, rehabilitation, and any scenario that requires courage or decisive action. In these situations, swearing can be used as a psychological adjustment method that is readily available and does not rely on external devices, giving people a little push when they need to "bite the bullet." Of course, the study also emphasized that this effect is "mild and short-lived", only applicable to short-term high-intensity tasks, and cannot replace systematic training or professional coaching in the long term.
The researchers also reminded that the social situational boundaries of this method are very important. After all, swearing is still regarded as impolite or inappropriate expression in many cultures and situations. How to control this kind of "self-fueling" expletives within an appropriate range without offending others is an issue that must be considered when applying this discovery in real-life situations in the future. Nick Washmuth, a doctoral student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville who participated in the study, said that the next step will be to explore whether the psychological boost brought by this kind of swearing is equally effective in more situations where hesitation is required to overcome hesitation and make quick decisions to act.
This research paper has been published in the American Psychologist, a journal of the American Psychological Association, and provides another interesting empirical result that has been repeatedly verified for sports psychology and daily behavior research. The overall research points to a simple but enlightening conclusion: in certain challenging moments, a moderate use of swear words may really help people "think less and do more."