Using curse words has long been associated with anger and vulgarity. However, new research points out a more positive dimension of using profanity, as it has been connected with being more honest.
The study showed that obscene expressions could, in fact, represent the mark of honesty, being associated with less likelihood of lying and deception.
The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, was conducted by a team of researchers from the Netherlands, the UK, the United States, and Hong Kong.
People Who Swear Are More Honest
Obscene language is considered to be inappropriate and socially unacceptable in some settings, depending on the type of relationship between the people who use the curse words and the ones who hear them.
Profanity can refer to a large array of vulgar expressions, from sexual references to blasphemy. So far, this type of manifestation has been linked with negative and powerful feelings, such as anger, frustration, or extreme surprise. However, profanity has gained popularity in entertainment during recent years among a specific type of audience.
"We examined profanity and honesty first with profanity behavior and lying on a scale in the lab, then with a linguistic analysis of real-life social interactions on Facebook, and finally with profanity and integrity indexes for the aggregate level of U.S. states. We found a consistent positive relationship between profanity and honesty; profanity was associated with less lying and deception at the individual level and with higher integrity at the society level," noted the researchers.
As part of the research, 276 participants were asked to list the most commonly employed and favorite swear words, and to rate their reasons for using these ways of expression. After the respondents answered the questionnaire, they were subjected to a lie test to determine whether they were honest or simply answered what they thought was right. The people who answered by admitting they use more than just one favorite curse word were more likely to tell the truth.
After that, the researchers collected data from 75,000 Facebook accounts to measure how much people swear online in their communication. People who used more swear words were also found to have some language patterns that are indicators of honesty, such as the presence of the first-person pronouns in their speech.
Profanity, No Longer Associated With Dishonesty
For a long time, using profanity has been associated with dishonesty and thought of as a deviant behavior, often used as an indicator of a lack of moral standards. However, this research shows that profanity can be associated with honesty.
One of the examples employed by the research is Donald Trump's attitude during the presidential campaign in 2016. While the way he expressed his controversial ideas was, in many cases, far from elegant, he was also perceived as being more honest in his speeches compared to other candidates.
"The relationship between profanity and dishonesty is a tricky one. Swearing is often inappropriate but it can also be evidence that someone is telling you their honest opinion. Just as they aren't filtering their language to be more palatable, they're also not filtering their views," noted David Stillwell, a lecturer in Big Data Analytics at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study.
