Swearing releases inhibitions and improves performance

A curse word letting go in a moment of frustration may feel good, but it also improves performance in a situation that requires strength or endurance.

The secret is that strong words give you the courage to cross your limits, explains the freshman researchwhich appeared in the American Psychologist.

“In many situations, people hold themselves back from using all their strength, either consciously or unconsciously,” says the author of the research article Richard Stephens from the British University of Keele in the bulletin.

The group a previous study showed that test subjects who recited power words were able to hold their hand in ice water longer and support their body weight with their hands.

According to Stephens, the observation has been repeated several times and is reliable. However, the psychological mechanism of the effect requires explanation. The group wanted to test the working assumption that swearing frees a person to a more uninhibited state.

“By cursing, we let go of social inhibitions and allow ourselves to push harder,” Stephens explains.

Group conducted two experiments in which participants had to repeat either a curse word or a neutral word of their choice every two seconds while performing a push-up task.

After the test, the subjects answered questions about their mental state: how focused or confident they felt and to what extent they experienced a flow state, i.e. a pleasant immersion in the task.

There were a total of 192 subjects.

As in the previous tests, the performances performed while swearing were better. Cursing subjects also experienced greater Flow and confidence, which are often associated with better performance.

According to Stephens, the connection may explain why swearing is so common.

“Curse is a drug-free, cheap, easy-to-implement way to enhance performance,” he says.

In the future, the group plans to find out if swearing works in the same way in other situations where you should overcome hesitation. The purpose is to study how swearing affects public speaking and romantic approaches.

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