An article in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology discusses how swearing contributes to increased strength and endurance.
In the experiment, participants were asked to perform a physical exercise: sitting on a chair, they had to lift themselves up with their hands and hold that position for as long as possible. Those who used swear words during the task exhibited significantly more strength to complete the exercise.
In another experiment, subjects were tasked with inflating a balloon, with the possibility of it bursting. Again, with swearing on their lips, participants inflated the balloon more vigorously than when discussing neutral topics. The authors of the study conclude that the use of profanity encourages risk-taking: according to their calculations, risky behavior increased by 8%.
It would also be interesting to find out whether swear words differ in their psychosomatic strength, and whether there is a difference in the type of risk a swearing person is willing to take. For example, inflating a balloon is one thing, while engaging in a risky financial operation is quite another. Perhaps in the future we will get answers to these questions.
