Need a Quick Boost in Physical Strength? Try Blurting Out Some Curse Words, a Study Suggests
When repeating four-letter words, participants held a challenging physical task for longer than when they said neutral words. Cursing seemed to help them feel more focused, more confident and less distracted
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Blurting out some curse words could give you a quick performance boost. It might provide a surge in physical strength and endurance by reducing your inhibitions, according to a study published December 18 in the journal American Psychologist.
“In many situations, people hold themselves back—consciously or unconsciously—from using their full strength,” says study co-author Richard Stephens, a psychologist at Keele University in England, in a statement. “Swearing is an easily available way to help yourself feel focused, confident and less distracted, and ‘go for it’ a little more.”
Scientists have known that swearing can be helpful in some situations. Studies have found that swearing may increase pain tolerance, attention and memory, and decrease social pain resulting from exclusion or rejection.
Researchers have also previously linked swearing with increased physical strength and endurance. But for the latest study, Stephens and his colleagues wanted to understand the psychological mechanisms that make swearing such a useful tool. “People instinctively swear when they hurt themselves,” he told the New Yorker’s Alan Burdick in 2017. “They must do it for a reason.”
The researchers suspect swearing may be beneficial, at least in part, because it triggers a disinhibited state of mind. Uttering a four-letter word seems to help people let go of their self-consciousness and act more freely.
“This paper picks up from research in the 1960s, which found that shouting, loud noise, alcohol and other interventions boosted physical strength and suggested it did so by reducing inhibitions,” Stephens tells BBC Science Focus’ Tom Howarth.
For the new study, the researchers had 182 participants do chair pushups. Each sat in a sturdy chair with their hands under their thighs, pressing down on the seat and straightening their arms to hold their body weight for as long as possible, up to 60 seconds.
Some participants were instructed to repeat a swear word every two seconds during the task, while others repeated a neutral word. Then, they swapped the type of word and held the chair pushup again. After each test, participants also answered questions about their mental state during the chair pushup.
Combining the data with that from an experiment reported in 2022 resulted in 300 analyzed participants. When swearing, individuals held the chair pushups for an average of about 28 seconds, the team found. But when saying neutral words, they held the position for an average of about 25.4 seconds. Compared with uttering neutral words, cursing also seemed to get participants into an increased psychological flow—a pleasant state of being immersed in an activity, or “in the zone”—and heightened levels of self-confidence, which the scientists say are key elements of disinhibition.
Fun fact: Cross-cultural cursing
The swearing trick works in other languages and cultures.
Stephens and some colleagues previously conducted a similar experiment exploring how British people swearing in English affected pain tolerance compared with Japanese people swearing in Japanese. Even though people of the latter group culturally tend not to swear in response to pain—unlike British folks—participants in both groups benefited from cursing.
“In some ways, the research confirms what we know as common sense—that swearing can give us a boost when we need it,” Stephens tells BBC Science Focus. “Swearing is a cheap, readily available, drug-free means of self-help.”
Moving forward, the researchers plan to test the effects of swearing in other common contexts, such as public speaking or making a romantic approach, Nicholas Washmuth, a study co-author and physical therapist at University of Alabama in Huntsville, says in the statement. They are curious to know whether swearing boosts performance in situations where people often second-guess themselves.
Scientists are also looking into the specific factors that affect the power of swearing, such as how often a person curses in their everyday life and the intensity of the swear word. Once they understand these details, doctors might even be able to “prescribe” swearing in medical settings, Washmuth said to the Washington Post’s Sam Jones earlier this year.
Since swearing is considered a faux pas in many social settings, Wasmuth told the outlet that he and his colleagues are also exploring whether cursing in your head could have similar effects as saying expletives out loud.
“You’re never quite sure when you use a swear word how it’s going to land,” Stephens tells the Guardian’s Hannah Devlin. “You have to know your audience and who is around. You could land yourself in hot water if you swear inappropriately.”
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