Swearing Actually Seems To Make Humans Physically Stronger (sciencealert.com)
- Reference: 0180418687
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/12/18/2116258/swearing-actually-seems-to-make-humans-physically-stronger
- Source link: https://www.sciencealert.com/swearing-actually-seems-to-make-humans-physically-stronger
> A new study adds to the growing body of evidence that swearing [2]can help us unleash our inner strength, improving physical performance , it seems, by helping people break through certain psychological barriers. [...] [Psychology researcher Richard Stephens of Keele University in the UK] and his colleagues at Keele and the University of Alabama wanted to test whether swearing could not only improve physical performance, as they had done in previous research, but also see whether it does so by changing a person's psychology in the moment, especially when it comes to letting go of inhibitions.
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> Eighty-eight participants, aged 18 to 65, all in good enough shape to exert themselves physically, were recruited at a university campus to participate in the first experiment. They each selected a pair of words based on the following prompts: a swear word you might utter after bumping your head, and a neutral word you might use to describe a table. Then, they undertook a chair push-up, which involves sitting in a chair and, holding each side of the seat, using your arms to lift your entire body weight (bottom off the chair, feet off the floor). [...]
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> Both experiments suggested that swearing offers an advantage in physical performance, with participants achieving longer chair push-up hold times as they repeated their foul-mouthed mantras. Scores for positive emotion, humor, distraction, and novelty were also elevated in the swearing tests, which suggests invoking their favorite four-letter word might enable people to transition into more action-oriented states, and perhaps actually enjoy their workout more.
The research is [3]published in American Psychologist .
[1] https://slashdot.org/~alternative_right
[2] https://www.sciencealert.com/swearing-actually-seems-to-make-humans-physically-stronger
[3] https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001650
Fuck yeah it does! (Score:3)
It also fixes computer equipment. Sometimes...
Bullshit *is* my "neutral" word (Score:1)
Or rather, my go-to default. Since I see it everywhere in the soft "sciences."
Re: Bullshit *is* my "neutral" word (Score:2)
Did you just try to bite the hand that feeds you, butvfail to even get them to notice you?
You betcha (Score:2)
Fuck yeah!
I fucking knew it! (Score:2)
Since I was a wee lad, swearing felt good; and not for the all too obvious taboo, I shouldn't be using these words motive. No, swear words are purer than that, in that they warn the whole brain and body that some superhuman response is necessary immediately, if not sooner, in order to rectify a very recent miscalculation.
It works! (Score:2)
I swear a good, healthy "just go, you cocksucking CUNT!" will add at least 50 ft-lbs when trying to convince a stubborn fastener to come off.
I don't miss wrenching on stuff that slept outside in the English countryside and was seldom used.
Re: (Score:2)
> I swear a good, healthy "just go, you cocksucking CUNT!" will add at least 50 ft-lbs when trying to convince a stubborn fastener to come off.
> I don't miss wrenching on stuff that slept outside in the English countryside and was seldom used.
Ah, Poop.
> "I don't miss wrenching on stuff that slept outside in the English countryside and was seldom used."
That's hitting a little close to home, mate. 'Wrenching on stuff that slept outside in the English countryside and was seldom used' describes me and most all of my 2a.m. calls.
Re: (Score:2)
> I don't miss wrenching on stuff that slept outside in the English countryside and was seldom used.
Okay, okay - enough about your ex-wife!
How does usage affect this? (Score:2)
I'm curious if these effects remain if you regularly swear. I imagine the effect has something to do with the idea that words are viewed as "forbidden". But if you use the words all the time, this probably diminishes.
Someone needs to do additional experiments. Add in racial slurs to see how that impacts people who regularly say "fuck".
Re: (Score:2)
What the fuck you talking about Willis?
Re: Swearing just shows (Score:2)
Don't be such a cunt.
Re: (Score:2)
Don't be so fucking prissy. Swearing at the right time and place, and in the right amount, can be fantastically cathartic.
Divine Inspiration. (Score:2)
* David drops a dumbbell *
(David) ”AAAUUUGH, MY FOOT! GODDA..”
(Goliath) ”HEY! We lift CLEAN around here Natty! NO ROIDS!”
Gotta run. I fear I owe a set or seven-zillion to the man downstairs for that.
Magic! (Score:2)
Stop assuming that spoken words only affect people psychosomaticly. The study presents evidence that words magically strengthen us. There is no evidence the effect is just psychological. :D
Team America was right (Score:2)
Fuck yeah!
Re: (Score:2)
damn right it does.
Fuck this job! (Score:2)
Wait, I'm just trying to perform at my best. Studies show... What? Meeting with HR? Now? Shit.
Humor? (Score:2)
This makes the research pretty dubious. When I swear, there is no humour, but rage. Also, did they reach the limit - "I can't anymore", desperation, that often triggers swearing, adrenaline, with just a chairs weight to lift? That would require a lot of reps.
I can believe it (Score:2)
I read somewhere that swearing triggers portions of our brain deep down the way a primal scream would. And when animals are trapped or frightened, they often emit such a scream, so I wouldn't be surprised if it had a beneficial evolutionary reason.
Swearing is pure emotion (Score:2)
People who swear aren't trying to communicate meaning, they are communicating emotion. The specific words they speak have no relevance to what they are communicating. Emotion probably does push people to a heightened sense of strength.
What the fuck? (Score:2)
Fuck! Fuckity, fuck, motherfucker! Shit, cunt, ass! FUCK!
I now have superhuman ability.
Now I know... (Score:2)
Now I know why when I used to goto to a fundamentalist evangelical church they did not like me swearing, using colorful language, laced with expletives and adverbs...all that fraking bull-flop.
Of course, then I heard them in private, with their families, friends...so explains their holy-roller bullying in God's house.
When one told me something obvious, and I said, "Like my former boss a manure inspector at the fertilizer factory used to say: 'No sh*t Sherlock!'" For some reason I was not welcomed back or fo
Reaches for ... (Score:3)
... Roger's Profanisaurus.
Time to put in a few reps before bedtime.
Re: (Score:2)
Jesus fuckin' Christ, it's Roge t 's Profanisaurus.
And fun fact: The Profanisaurus is the only dinosaur to have survived the asteroid. Because of it's super-strength from its salty language.