Science

Science and Swearing

I’ve received a flurry of emails about the “Swearing can alleviate pain” study conducted at England’s Keele University by psychologist Richard Stephens and colleagues. I’d like to make a few comments in regards to swearing and cognition.

There are many reasons why we swear; to express anger, surprise or pleasure; to shock, to emphasize, to show solidarity, or for humorous purposes. Similarly, there are many reasons why we don’t swear (socialization, belief system, inhibiting politeness factors, etc).

Possibly one of the most interesting types of swearing is the uncontrollable, compulsive kind…

The Stephens, et al. study tested “volunteers who cursed at will”, although most pain-response swearing is actually a reaction, rather than a deliberate attempt to ease pain. Personally, I’d like to beat the fuck out of some people and observe their auto-responses to pain, but try getting that one past your ethics committee…

Screaming shit! when you stub your toe or moaning fuck! when you’re in the throes of passion are related to a phenomenon called coprolalia; that is, the involuntary production of obscenities. This can be a characteristic of the condition known as Tourette’s Syndrome (although it’s really a rare symptom).

no fucking swearingPatients with Tourette’s Syndrome can exhibit muscular tics and/or vocal tics. These sudden, spasm-like tics are often involuntary outbursts of ‘bad language’. These include not only expletives but also abusive epithets and racial insults; and not only utterances, as some patients have the compulsion to write naughty words, make rude gestures (there are cases of deaf people with Tourette’s who sign rude words uncontrollably), and even produce offensive noises, such as belching. (Some readers must now be thinking, “Oh, Fuck! Do I have Tourette’s?!)

Interestingly, Tourette’s behaviors vary across cultures, and time. Patients seem to blurt out words that are deemed socially inappropriate in their time and place. It’s upsetting to think of historical sufferers who would have likely uttered profane or blasphemous words and been ostracized (or worse) for ‘demonic possession’ or ‘witchcraft’.

Research suggests that our vocabulary of obscenities is stored/accessed differently in the brain. It’s believed that taboo language is, ahem, rooted in our neural anatomy; inbuilt into the limbic systems of our brains. The cerebral cortex is to be thanked for our skepticism, reasoning, and rational thinking (that’s not to say we are always successful at this!). Conversely, the basal ganglia (the interconnected areas below the cerebral cortex) regulates emotions and behavior, like emotive swearing.

Incidentally, research has shown that glossolalia (the speaking in tongues found in charismatic churches) shows an increase in use of the emotion centers of the brain during the event, and a decrease in the language parts of the brain.

George Carlin refrains from uttering the 7 dirty wordsVarious studies (see below) implicate the basal ganglia in Tourette’s Syndrome (and similar neurological disorders such as asphasia). You see, the basal ganglia plays a large role in impulse control. Swearing can be a release of anger or stress, an act of aggression, a loss of control, or an uninhibited reaction to pain. The swearing exhibited by Tourette’s Syndrome sufferers seems to also be uninhibited; a breakdown of the brain’s inhibitory mechanisms. Coprolalia appears to be a failure to inhibit some kinds of ‘normal’ behavior. Coprolaliacs can’t seem to refrain from engaging in ‘bad behavior’ in supposedly polite company. In a sense, it’s like giggling at a funeral…

The production of swearing is a fascinating and controversial area of cognitive science; we just don’t fucking know everything about it yet!

Further reading:

Allan, K. and Burridge, K. 2006. Forbidden Words. Cambridge University Press.

Jay, T. 2000. Why We Curse: A Neuro-Psycho-Social Theory of Speech. John Benjamins.

Newberg, A. et al. 2006. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. Vol. 148, No. 1, 22, pp. 67-71.

Pinker, S. 2007. The Stuff of Thought. Viking Adult.

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16 Comments

  1. Incidentally, research has shown that glossolalia (the speaking in tongues found in charismatic churches) shows an increase in use of the emotion centers of the brain during the event, and a decrease in the language parts of the brain.

    This is interesting. Is this evidence then, that speaking in tongues is really just a heightened emotional state that sometimes occurs during worship, and not the “holy spirit” giving believers the ability to speak the language of god?

  2. lol…I know, sounds ridiculous when you write it out. But that’s what some believe, and really it’s no more ridiculous sounding than the more conventional religious beliefs that are accepted in our society.

  3. @Stacey:

    This is interesting. Is this evidence then, that speaking in tongues is really just a heightened emotional state that sometimes occurs during worship, and not the “holy spirit” giving believers the ability to speak the language of god?

    No, that spot in the brain is the portal where the Holy Spirit R-R-RISES up! and enters the mind and soul of the believer.

    awrg;ouhayhp; iugkjhvz ik3tbhg
    lejutbgibf a rhteiugbn

    Woooo! Typing in tongues is just as exciting.

  4. @Karen Stollznow: I frequented a few charismatic and pentecostal services back in the late 1970’s and heard lots of speaking-in-tongues. One common string of sounds that I heard quite often always sounded like someone saying “she’ll be coming on a Honda” really fast. Funny thing the human brain.

  5. @James Fox: I went to one, I guess, pentacostal service at an assembly of god church around 87 or 88. I didn’t know what speaking in tounges was I had never heard of it. I was half way convinced that my “friend” had brought me to his church to serve as the human sacrifice for the week. He thought he was hilarous.

  6. I only gave this topic a cursory glance. Once cussed, it can’t be discussed. I’d swear an oath on the Bible, but there isn’t one to sit on.

  7. You should try boxing.

    If you’re gonna beat up folks and watch them hurt, why not get paid for it?

    I know a damn good coach in the LBC (Long Beach California), if you happen to live out that way…

    rod

  8. I personally view profanity as vocabulary spice. Used appropriately, it can convey proper emotion, and make your comment “taste good”. However, I’ve known a couple of people who swear just for the fun of it. Likening that to cooking, if you use too much, it ruins the dish, and becomes repugnant. Those who swear too much (ie: constantly) are a major turn off, and I personally don’t want to be around them. They just put me in a bad mood.

  9. “Coprolalia appears to be a failure to inhibit some kinds of ‘normal’ behavior”

    All these years, I thought my dad was just an asshole. Who knew?

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