Psychologists at Keele University in Staffordshire England have discovered that swearing can genuinely boost people’s physical performance by helping them overcome inhibitions and push themselves harder in strength and endurance tests according to research published in the journal American Psychologist. Lead researcher Dr Richard Stephens says swearing is an easily available way to help yourself feel focused confident and less distracted allowing people to go for it a little more when they would normally hold themselves back consciously or unconsciously from using their full strength. The team conducted two experiments with 192 total participants asking them to repeat either a swear word of their choice or a neutral word every two seconds while doing chair pushup exercises and found that those who swore were able to support their bodyweight significantly longer. After completing the physical challenge participants answered questions about their mental state during the task including measures of positive emotion how funny they found the situation how distracted they felt and how self confident they felt plus a measure of psychological flow which is when people become immersed in an activity in a pleasant focused way.
Combining results from multiple experiments the researchers found that the performance difference could be explained by increases in participants reports of psychological flow distraction and self confidence which are all important aspects of disinhibition that help people throw off social constraints. Dr Stephens explains that swearing is literally a calorie neutral drug free low cost readily available tool at our disposal for when we need a boost in performance making it incredibly commonplace across cultures and situations. Study co author Professor Nicholas Washmuth of the University of Alabama says their labs are now studying how swearing influences public speaking and romantic approach behaviors which are two situations where people tend to hesitate or second guess themselves. The research helps explain why swearing feels good in moments of frustration and proves it really can improve your wellbeing by providing a simple psychological mechanism that anyone can use to enhance their physical and mental performance when facing challenges.
