Psychology of Cursing

[Haphazard]

I've heard that when people curse genuinely (like dropping a bowling ball on their toes) they always go back to their native language/dialect. Is this true?

Does cursing serve a specific psychological purpose? Does it do any good to suppress cursing? Does cursing too much defeat this purpose?

Discuss.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Studies have proven that swearing is an effective pain reliever.

Edit: and supposedly yes, according to the article swearing alot reduces it's efficacy as a pain reliever.

 

[Sniffles]

Well I often curse in Polish - so it must be true.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Cursing is a verbal form of aggression. When we're stressed we can relieve some of that stress by cursing. It's probably more constructive to curse than to hit something.

 

[FDG]

Yes, I do. Even when I was in places where I spoke english all day long, I would still curse in my original dialect. It's funny, because even when I'm in Italy I never speak in dialect - always standard italian. Yet, cursing seems much more effective when done in dialect, definitely.

 

[Athenian200]

I think Cursing helps relieve stress in a verbal way. But then again, so does saying "Ow!"

Usually when I see people cursing, it's a result of mental or physical pain. In my experience, they don't say it unless they're angry, hurt, or freaked out... so when I hear "F-word" or "G-d word," what I hear is, "This hurts!" in a more aggressive, defiant tone.

Cursing makes people feel like they're acting rather than reacting, even when they really are just reacting to discomfort. That's the appeal, IMO.

And yes, they will often revert, because it's a more instinctive reaction than many other impulses. This is why Turret's Syndrome sufferers with Coprolalia find themselves cursing all the time. Something keeps triggering that instinctive response.

 

[Oaky]

I dunno. I find those who curse much have much less wisdom than those who don't.

 

[Litvyak]

^ What a bunch of bullshit...

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

I've heard that when people curse genuinely (like dropping a bowling ball on their toes) they always go back to their native language/dialect. Is this true?

Does cursing serve a specific psychological purpose? Does it do any good to suppress cursing? Does cursing too much defeat this purpose?

Discuss.

I love doing it. It releases a certain kind of stress. Fuck suppressing it.

 

[Oaky]

^ What a bunch of bullshit...

I see what you did there.

 

[01011010]

^ What a bunch of bullshit...

lol I curse for reasons that have nothing to do with annoyance or anger. I don't revert to my native language.

 

[FDG]

I dunno. I find those who curse much have much less wisdom than those who don't.

Do you play team sports?

 

[Oaky]

^ very rarely

 

[swordpath]

Cursing is cursing... There's nothing to discuss.

 

[Skyward]

Cursing is cursing... There's nothing to discuss.

Youre talking to Ns who LOVE to discuss about things that dont need discussing, so....


Cursing, as an above poster said, is a verbal form of agression. That is why many people I know hate hearing curse words because its like a moral slap.

When a swear word is said, it is more emphasized than the rest of the sentence, either by tone or 'pressure.'

Even if people are swearing often in a casual way (say, teens among friends) they are using curse words more as a 'love tap' than as an aggressive slap.

I think using curse words from different languages can depend on the 'effectiveness' of the curse. A Finn I talked to preferred the english 'F word' because it was easier and more 'heavy' than the Finnish equivallent.

Lastly, swearing does more for me than saying 'ow' when I hurt myself. I dont cry when I'm hurt, I just swear a lot. Spitting out cursewords feels more like a pressure valve is opening and gives me something to focus on. I also say these differently than when I swear around friends. Around friends its in a more casual tone, but as a 'painkiller' I say them like I was swearing at the pain, attacking it to make it go away.

 

[MonkeyGrass]

I dunno. I find those who curse much have much less wisdom than those who don't.

Interesting. I've heard that argument before, but it's just not been my experience. *shrug* Perhaps to those who are uncomfortable, it's enough to distract from the wisdom that's present in the speech.

Litvyak-

 

[Oaky]

Here's another way to put it - a monk goes and trains in the mountains for years. He has gained wisdom, knowledge and understanding of many things. He meditates day and night and he has over thousands of followers and people who look up to him. He is calm and a master of the mind and emotions. A guy goes to him saying, "please, help me, someone stole my money and possessions, what should I do?" The wise monk maintains his posture, looks calmly at the man and says, "shit happens..."

 

[Kra]

Here's another way to put it - a monk goes and trains in the mountains for years. He has gained wisdom, knowledge and understanding of many things. He meditates day and night and he has over thousands of followers and people who look up to him. He is calm and a master of the mind and emotions. A guy goes to him saying, "please, help me, someone stole my money and possessions, what should I do?" The wise monk maintains his posture, looks calmly at the man and says, "shit happens..."

That's actually a pretty effective 2-word summary of teaching non-attachment...

On topic: If I'm in the company of friends that I know don't take offense to cursing, I'll curse if I'm laughing, surprised, energetic, calm, etc. It's not limited to negativity.

It's really just a modifier of quantitative statements, ie:

"Dude, I'm really fuckin' happy today!"

"Dude, I just bought a shit-ton of cool shit from the store!"

"These Blazin Buffalo Doritos are damn good!"

...Alright, now I'm just having fun. See what I mean? Totally positive.

 

[Totenkindly]

Cursing, as an above poster said, is a verbal form of agression. That is why many people I know hate hearing curse words because its like a moral slap.

I always wondered why, when people get angry, they use particular taboo words or rant against God/another authority in taboo attitude... and why that does seem to feel better than using other less-severe word (softer gentler language often is just not emotionally satisfying).

The "aggression" angle probably has some validity to it, and those words are about as aggressive socially as you can get.

It also sort of fits in with my natural response when I get hurt suddenly and sharply (like banging my head unexpectedly, hard, on a cabinet door): I want to throw and/or smash something, it's just a physically aggressive response. That doesn't happen a lot, the pain has to be very unexpected and very strong, but it's still a programmed response to that type of pain = danger = must lash out.

 

[Katsuni]

Uhm... I don't speak german but half the time I curse in it, but I don't think that counts >.>;;

Generally I rarely curse for real anyway, though I have started using 'ass' a bit more commonly instead of 'jerk' because it's just generally more descriptive and stronger in term. "jerk" doesn't have much meaning these days, it doesn't really show how jerkish someone's being sadly, so it had to be replaced.

Otherwise, I have no issues with cursing, I just hate the idea of using curses every single sentance... if yeu do that, then there's nothing to fall back on when yeu really need to. For awhile I tried inventing my own personalized curse words (VIKK has a very similar formation as 'fuck' so yeu can still get that 'feel' of the word without using it) but this idea flopped because it didn't make any sense to anyone but me, which just caused as much stress as it cured.

Anyways, cursing's not bad when it's appropriate. If yeu find out aliens just fried yeur town and yeu're the last one left, and they're pouring gel on something that looks startlingly similar to a stereotypical anal probe... now is a good time to panic, and that panic can be expressed best in this situation via cursing.

It'd be a waste to use it in regular conversation though.