Does Swearing Make You Stronger? The Strange Psychology of Cursing
Tuesday, August 26, 2025. Kyle, I follow the science wherever it takes me.
For centuries, swearing has been condemned as vulgar, lazy, or proof of a limited vocabulary. But new research suggests your grandmother was dead wrong.
Swearing doesn’t just make you sound more human—it may also make you stronger, more motivated, and more emotionally engaged.
Yes, really. That four-letter word might just be a performance enhancer.
The Science of Swearing and Strength
A study published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology asked participants to repeat either a swear word (“fuck,” “shit”) or a neutral word (“wood,” “flat”) before completing a grip strength task (Beck, Brooks, & Stephens, 2024).
The results? Swearing improved grip force by about 1.4 kilograms on average.
It wasn’t superhuman strength, but it was enough to show a measurable physiological effect. Swearing also made participants feel more positive, more humorous, and more energized.
This effect lines up with earlier research by Stephens and colleagues (2009, 2017), who showed that swearing increases pain tolerance and boosts performance in short bursts of physical effort.
Why Swearing Works: Motivation, Not Magic
Researchers found that swearing revs up something called the Behavioral Approach System (BAS Drive), the motivational circuit that fuels goal pursuit.
In other words, swearing flips the brain’s “go” switch.
Positive emotion: Participants reported more energy, humor, and even laughter.
Negative emotion: Swearing also stoked a little anger—but not anxiety. This kind of arousal may actually push us into action.
Motivation boost: Scores on the BAS Drive scale were significantly higher after swearing, suggesting that curse words activate our inner drive system.
What swearing did not do was reduce error monitoring in the brain.
Scientists looked at something called error-related negativity (ERN), a neural signal that fires when you make a mistake. Contrary to predictions, swearing didn’t dampen the ERN (Beck et al., 2024). Translation: even if you curse, your brain still knows when you’ve screwed up.
Swearing and Pain: A Well-Studied Link
This isn’t just about grip strength. Studies have consistently shown that swearing helps people tolerate pain. One famous experiment asked participants to dunk their hand in ice water: those who swore could keep it submerged longer and reported less pain (Stephens, Atkins, & Kingston, 2009).
Why? Swearing likely sparks the body’s fight-or-flight response—increasing adrenaline, heart rate, and emotional arousal—which dulls pain and fuels action. It’s the same reason people curse during childbirth, intense workouts, or when stubbing a toe.
Practical Benefits of Swearing
So what does all of this mean for daily life?
At the gym: Swearing before a lift might give you a measurable performance edge.
During pain: Letting a curse fly may help you withstand discomfort, from athletic injuries to dental procedures.
In motivation: A well-timed expletive might give you the emotional jolt needed to start—or finish—a tough task. I can help with that.
Importantly, swearing doesn’t shut down your brain’s self-monitoring. You’re still accountable for mistakes. But it does make you more emotionally fired up and ready to act.
The Human Side of Cursing
Swearing is emotional shorthand: a quick, powerful way to express frustration, surprise, pain, or humor. I value it greatly in therapy, as I can wax a bit salty on occassion
Cussing carries cultural weight, social taboos, and deep emotional charge. What this new science suggests is that cursing isn’t just communication—it’s also a psychophysiological tool.
When you drop an f-bomb, you’re not just being crude.
You’re tapping into ancient motivational circuits that prepare your body for action. You’re throwing off a little social armor, declaring, “I feel this, and I’m ready to move.”
Final Thoughts
Swearing won’t turn you into a superhero.
But it might give you the extra spark you need to lift heavier, push harder, and tolerate more pain. It’s less about losing control and more about harnessing emotion to fuel motivation.
So the next time you’re straining at the gym, wrestling with furniture assembly, or just trying to get through another Monday—go ahead. Cuss it out.
It might be the healthiest four-letter word you’ve got in the moment.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Beck, V., Brooks, J. L., & Stephens, R. (2024). The effect of swearing on error-related negativity as an indicator for state disinhibition. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 77(1), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218231234567
Stephens, R., Atkins, J., & Kingston, A. (2009). Swearing as a response to pain. NeuroReport, 20(12), 1056–1060. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNR.0b013e32832e64b1
Stephens, R., Robertson, O., & Livingston, A. (2017). Swearing as a response to pain—effect of daily swearing frequency. Journal of Pain, 18(9), 1087–1095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2017.05.009