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7 Votes
19 Comments
Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief
News Type: Event — Seeded on Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:33 PM EDT
Article Source: scientificamerican.comadvertisement
Bad language could be good for you, a new study shows. For the first time, psychologists have found that swearing may serve an important function in relieving pain.
But then, this:
There is a catch, though: The more we swear, the less emotionally potent the words become, Stephens cautions. And without emotion, all that is left of a swearword is the word itself, unlikely to soothe anyone's pain.
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- Brian Ford's Column, All of Newsvine
- Groups: Newsvine Science, Old viners, Science And Technology, Successful Solutions, Sweeter Fennel
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 | Swearing outbursts 'can lessen pain' | Independent.co.uk | Sun Jul 12 | 7 |
| Evil boffins conclude swearing is great. | Telegraph | Sun Jul 12 | 0 |
- Public Discussion (19)
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7.1
{"commentId":8170552,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
I love this sort of stuff. Whenever I read about how our brain interprets various signals, and how those signals affect the way we perceive emotion, physical discomfort, etc., the more obvious it become to me that we're not much more than software -- incredibly complex software -- but software nonetheless.
In that light, I never quite understood the distinction between the humanoid Cylons in Battlestar Galactica, and the humans.
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- 3 votes
#1 - Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:36 PM EDT{"commentId":8184663,"authorDomain":"syntactictree"}
Check out Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language by Ruth Wajnryb, an actual linguist. It's wonderfully witty, and develops the following topics: the purpose of curse words (more detailed than the present article with additional reasons for swearing - but I'd still like to read the actual study); how they come into being; etymology; curse words in other languages; swearing universals; taboo; etc.
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- 2 votes
{"commentId":8171133,"authorDomain":"sonnetizer"}
"I suspect that swearing taps into a defensive reflex in which an animal that is suddenly injured or confined erupts in a furious struggle, accompanied by an angry vocalization, to startle and intimidate an attacker," he says.
A very interesting explanation -- so the cat really is swearing when you step on its tail...
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- 2 votes
#2 - Sun Jul 12, 2009 1:24 PM EDT{"commentId":8171197,"authorDomain":"snvcogar"}
There is a catch, though: The more we swear, the less emotionally potent the words become ….
It really doesn’t have anything to do with the words one uses.
It is the loud vocal reaction to the pain inflicted or the potential pain that will be inflicted which will cause an “interrupt” in the pain response portion of the brain. A minutely temporary condition similar to the extended condition known as “being in shock”.
Just about any extremely loud noise will mask or deaden the pain caused by the initial pain inflicting action.
Like people who jump from high places will scream “GERONIMOOOOOOOO” at the top of their lungs because they know that the sudden stop at the bottom will likely hurt like ell.
{"commentId":8171197,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"snvcogar"}
#3 - Sun Jul 12, 2009 1:29 PM EDT{"commentId":8171410,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
Except, that's not what the study found at all.
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- 1 vote
{"commentId":8171464,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
The study, published today in the journalNeuroReport, measured how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water. During the chilly exercise, they could repeat an expletive of their choice or chant a neutral word.
It sounds as though the emotional potency of using "taboo" words has something to do with the effect of dulling the sensation of physical pain.
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- 2 votes
{"commentId":8178650,"authorDomain":"americanspirit"}
Makes sense to me. It's a mental balance to the physical, karma so to speak. It would actually physically dilute the energy behind the pain. Everything heals quicker when it shares its pain.
BAD WORD BAD WORD works sufficiently when children are around ; )
{"commentId":8178650,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"americanspirit"}
- 3 votes
#4 - Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:47 PM EDT{"commentId":8190564,"authorDomain":"hollowhippie"}
Except that mental is just a physical process and karma isn't real.
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- 1 vote
{"commentId":8191013,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
Oh, I think karma is real enough. I mean, I don't think it's mystical, or anything, but I think in general that through a series of connection, how we behave affects our outlook, and our perception, and the perception others have about us, and eventually, this leads to people who strive to do good things having good things happen back to them, and people who do bad things, generally tend to have @!$%# lives, in some way or another.
I'm not saying that i believe, say, not stopping when you see someone stranded on the road means instantly that something bad will happen to you, but I do think that enough decisions like that, you're just increasing your odds that that sort of attitude will come back to you, unfavorably.
{"commentId":8191013,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"brianford"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8199821,"authorDomain":"hollowhippie"}
Agreed, but I mean as an actual law of the universe, I really doubt karma is real.
Sorry, I like @!$%#ting on the parade.
{"commentId":8199821,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"hollowhippie"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8178953,"authorDomain":"nkycarbon"}
As a side note I remember reading an article years ago that addressed swearing in different cultures. It wasn't scientific or anything, the person had been to Italy and heard someone curse after they had hit their thumb with a hammer. One thing that was pointed out that in general you get more syllables when cursing in Italian.
The phrase that started the line of thought? I can't find the article but I've never forgotten the phrase. Toned down it is "I defecate in the three holy wounds of Christ". After reading that the few guttural responses I let out don't seem like cursing. I think that is the actually taking the lord's name in vain much more than the simple goddammit is.
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- 2 votes
#5 - Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:10 PM EDT{"commentId":8181222,"authorDomain":"SchlepnKiltsBrewing"}
What is this goddamn article talking about? I don't @!$%#ing swear, what a load of @!$%#!
{"commentId":8181222,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"SchlepnKiltsBrewing"}
- 1 vote
#6 - Mon Jul 13, 2009 6:04 AM EDT{"commentId":8184494,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
Feel better?
{"commentId":8184494,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"brianford"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":8182019,"authorDomain":"snvcogar"}
(Post #3.2) “The study, published today in the journalNeuroReport, measured how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water. During the chilly exercise, they could repeat an expletive of their choice or chant a neutral word.”
It sounds as though the emotional potency of using "taboo" words has something to do with the effect of dulling the sensation of physical pain.
And “DUH”, one has trouble seeing the forest because of the trees.
Those same college students should repeat the exercise only next time have them “bite down on their tongue”, ….. only think about the "taboo" expletive of their choice .... or, ….. via their I-Pod and earphones with the volume turned up full blast playing “The Old Rugged Cross” …. instead of vocally repeating a “taboo” expletive of their choice ….. and see if they get the same results.
The loud voicing of a “taboo” expletive in the event of sensing pain is a nurtured habit one learns from their environment by observing others doing it. And they learn to do it because it “works” to lessen the pain. And it works to lessen the pain because one’s emotional reaction to both loud noises and pain are inherited survival instincts and one’s subconscious reaction to the danger posed by loud noises takes priority over pain. If one doesn’t react to “loud noises” then they are effectively subjecting themselves to “adding insult to their injury”.
If one is wounded and in pain and a growling/noisy predator is looking for them, they had better ignore the pain and concentrate on evading said predator. Thus, the overriding of the sensing of pain by the sensing of auditory info is rooted in one’s inherited survival traits.
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#7 - Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:28 AM EDT{"commentId":8184526,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
Got it. You have your own ideas. Perhaps you can do a scientific study and write up a paper. I'll be sure to seed it to Newsvine when someone writes an article about it. Meanwhile, I can only go on an actual scientific study, and discuss those results, as they have scientific meaning. Your idea of what might happen if you did something else is possible, I guess, but not really much more than a guess, at this point.
{"commentId":8184526,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"brianford"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8208032,"authorDomain":"snvcogar"}
Well Brian, I guess that you are anxiously awaiting another study to be conducted as to why those same people will also utter those same loud profanities and/or "taboo" words whenever they screw up and do something that they shouldn’t have done such as breaking their favorite fishing pole, putting a big “dingus” in their new automobile or dropping an open gallon of paint on their new carpet.
I wonder if their study will determine that said loud uttering of profanities will also lessen the damage they were responsible for causing? Whatta youse thunk?
{"commentId":8208032,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"snvcogar"}
{"commentId":8208267,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
@!$%# @!$%# @!$%#.
Guess what -- it also wards off mounting annoyance.
No. What I'm interested in is what is claimed in this study, which is that *swear words* have a particularly soothing effect against pain, *as documented* by a scientific study. I don't give a @!$%# whether swearing *also* makes people feel better about boneheaded mistakes.
The question of whether that's true has nothing whatsoever to do with anything at all, and unless you're smarter than I think you are, I have no issues leaping to the conclusion that prior to this study, you had no idea that swear words *in particular* drive an electrical impulse in the brain that offers a soothing sensation that helps combat pain.
I don't doubt that going "aaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhh!!!!" also helps, nor do I @!$%#ing care, what I do find to be interesting, is that SWEAR WORDS have now been documented to work BETTER than some other options, based on the negative connotations we associate with those words and how that connotation drives impulses to our brain.
And, again, despite you having said "duh" in your first comment, I'm pretty confident that you didn't know that, or didn't know how swear words particularly affected our brain in relation to pain, and if you don't find the study to be interesting, you have my permission to ignore it, rather than making a nuisance of yourself.
{"commentId":8208267,"threadId":"624912","contentId":"3019659","authorDomain":"brianford"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8227155,"authorDomain":"snvcogar"}
(Post #7.3) … and unless you're smarter than I think you are, ……. you had no idea that swear words *in particular* drive an electrical impulse in the brain that offers a soothing sensation that helps combat pain.
I am smart enough to know that if there are only two (2) choices, ….. either repeating an expletive or chanting a neutral word, …… then the repeating of said expletive will have more effect on pain reduction …… because said expletive will initiate significantly more subconscious mind activity than will a neutral word. And the louder one utters said expletive or neutral word the greater one’s subconscious mind activity will be, ….. because one’s subconscious mind is programmed to react to loud noises with a priority over one’s reaction to pain.
(Post #7.3) … what I do find to be interesting, is that SWEAR WORDS have now been documented to work BETTER than some other options, based on the negative connotations we associate with those words and how that connotation drives impulses to our brain.
Not other options, but only one (1) other option. And yes, it is based on “the negative connotations” of the expletive because, as I stated above, said expletive will initiate significantly more subconscious mind activity. And the “busier” one’s subconscious mind gets, the lesser it reacts to input data from one’s sense organs and/or nervous system. I mean like a football fan watching a receiver running for the winning touchdown being unable to hear what their “honey” is saying to them even if she is beating him on the back and shoulders.
(Post #7.3) … …… I'm pretty confident that you didn't know that, or didn't know how swear words particularly affected our brain in relation to pain, and if you don't find the study to be interesting, you have my permission to ignore it, rather than making a nuisance of yourself.
If swear words in particular affect our brain in relation to pain, then please explain this statement from the article, to wit: “The more we swear, the less emotionally potent the words become”.
I’ll clue you in as to why that happens. It is because the more one swears the less “the negative connotations” becomes, which thus permits one’s subconscious mind to commit more resources to dealing with the pain.
Brian, what I have been trying to tell you is, an ”association” of loud cursing to pain reduction is not a scientific reason to declare that curse words specifically are the “causation” of said pain reduction.
And for my last act of nuisance, here are two (2) following references, to wit:
SPR FAQ: Sound Pain Relief -- Why does it work?
If you're referring to audio analgesia in general, we're not really sure. Nobody is. Our best informed guess is that pain is disrupted at a neurological level by the combination of white noise and music. Although there is still no consensus, researchers have offered several potential reasons why, including, but not limited to:
•cross-sensory masking (the direct suppression of pain by intense stimulation of another sensory mode, such as using hot and cold packs to increase pain tolerance)
•distraction
•a hypnotic effect
•stress and anxiety reduction (eg, masking the sound of a dental drill and providing the comfort and familiarity of known and preferred music)
•occupation (the brain becomes so busy trying to make sense of the white noise that it neglects pain stimuli to a significant degree)
•suggestion
•expectation, which one might call a faith or placebo effect (ie, those who expect audio analgesia to work seem to have higher success rate with the reduction of pain)
Of course much more research needs to be done on this subject.
And please note the following is circa 1961.
Audio Analgesia - A New Problem for Otologists
HALLOWELL DAVIS, M.D.; ARAM GLORIG, M.D. - Arch Otolaryngol. 1962;75(6):498-501.
(Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.)
"Audio analgesia" refers to the use of sound to allay pain. This method has been used particularly in dentistry and, on a more limited scale, in obstetrics, but it may find further and more general application. Apparatus to produce the necessary loud sound, usually stereophonic music or wideband "white" noise delivered to the patient through earphones, with the volume under the control of the patient, has been developed and placed on the market. The use of these instruments poses a new problem for otology because the effectiveness of the loud sound in distracting and relaxing the patient or otherwise producing the "analgesia" depends at least in part on the high level at which the noise is delivered. The levels are such that permanent threshold shifts would be expected if persons were habitually exposed to them for several hours a day.
Fortunately, the human ear can tolerate the necessary intensities of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
Author Affiliations: ST. LOUIS; LOS ANGELES
Director of Research, Central Institute for the Deaf, St. Louis (Dr. Davis); Director of Research, Research Center of the Subcommittee on Noise, of the Committee on Conservation of Hearing, American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, Los Angeles (Dr. Glorig).
Footnotes: Submitted for publication Dec. 22, 1961.
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{"commentId":8227332,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
Not other options, but only one (1) other option.
There are any number of "other options".
- Thump your fist on a table over and over.
- Say "ouch".
- Scream "OUCH!".
- Say or scream any other non swear-word.
- Scream "ARRRRGGHHHHGHGH!!!"
- Bit your lip.
- Run around the room.
- Collapse into a heap and sway back and forth.
- Say nothing at all and internalize the pain.
- Yell at someone, because they're there.
In short, you're being kind of silly.
If swear words in particular affect our brain in relation to pain, then please explain this statement from the article, to wit: “The more we swear, the less emotionally potent the words become”.
Uh. Because if we dilute the words to the point that they no longer send the same signal to the brain, they no longer offer the soothing antidote to pain signals in our brain?
Brian, what I have been trying to tell you is, an ”association” of loud cursing to pain reduction is not a scientific reason to declare that curse words specifically are the “causation” of said pain reduction.
Great. I never claimed that they were. Move along, please.
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- 1 vote
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