At the risk of simplifying the enormous human wealth, we can venture to say that there are two types of people in the world: those who bite their tongues so as not to miss profanity and those who speak them without problems. Those who say them may seem crude and rude, since including some words classified as "obscene" in our speech is not well received. However, this habit can bring some points in our favor.
A study conducted by the universities of Stanford, Cambridge, Maastricht and Hong Kong suggests that people who say one bad word after another may actually be more honest.
Swearing involves applying fewer mental filters to speech
The first part of the study was attended by 276 people who said what were the main bad words they used daily and how often. The researchers then tested their level of honesty through a series of tests.
In the second part of the study, the researchers analyzed approximately 73.789 Facebook profiles, looking for linguistic indicators of deception, such as the use of the third person and the presence of negative words.
Combining the results they saw that there is a strong correlation between swearing and honesty; that is, people who curse and swear often tend to be more sincere.
The researchers note that while cursing and swearing is frowned upon in most cultures, in reality they are direct and honest, unfiltered forms of expression. In reality, they are not an expression of meanness or anger, but rather of authenticity, since people can use these words in social contexts as if they were talking to themselves. In practice, it would be an externalization of the inner dialogue that takes place in their mind.
This kind of language also implies that the person does not filter their social discourse very much, which indicates that they use fewer masks and are not afraid to show themselves as they are. It can also be considered an indicator that the person is not very interested in social conventions.
Furthermore, an experiment conducted at Keele University showed that swearing helps to cope with pain. When people could curse freely they felt less pain, even as their heart rate increased. This means that the pain perception threshold increased. And if that's not enough, swearing has also been found to increase our tolerance for frustration.
Why do "bad words" have this effect?
The key is that "bad words" represent a social taboo, which are prohibited in certain situations. So when they give us permission to say it, we are breaking an implied rule, and that makes us feel good.
Furthermore, in stressful situations, swearing involves the breaking of the dam of self-control, so the swearing turns into an outlet that allows us to free ourselves a little from the tension. For this reason, "bad words" have a cathartic power.
