Monday, July 13, 2009
Researchers at Keele University in England have concluded that the use of expletives may be beneficial when experiencing physical pain. Psychologists had student volunteers submerge their hands into icy water, and those who swore felt less pain and were able to endure the cold longer than test subjects who used neutral words.
Researchers speculate the reason may reside in the oldest evolutionary parts of the human brain. Psychologist Richard Stephens, who led the study, said swearing may have evolved as a way to help early man deal with risks that came from hunting or fighting off predators. But regardless of why uttering curse words seem to help with pain, he said: “I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief (by Frederik Joelving, Scientific American)
Swearing Can Reduce the Feeling of Pain (by Richard Gray, Telegraph UK)
Comments