Never Lose Your Friend Who Swears A Lot, According to Psychologists

Apr 19, 2018

Growing up, you were probably taught to never swear. You were told that it was impolite, offensive, and a bad habit. You may have even been told that those who swear are less intelligent and use swear words because they don’t have the vocabulary in order to express what they really want to say.

But now, psychologists such as Kristin Jay of Marist College and Timothy Jay of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts are beginning to disagree.
 

During their research, titled “Taboo Word Fluency and Knowledge of Slurs and General Pejoratives: Deconstructing the Poverty-of-Vocabulary Myth,” they aim to disprove the myths that come along with those who love to swear. These researchers believe that “People who use taboo words understand their general expressive content as well as nuanced distinctions that must be drawn to use slurs appropriately… The ability to make nuanced distinction indicates the presence of more rather than less linguistic knowledge.”
 

Not only does research show that those who swear have better vocabularies, but it also shows that swearing is not necessarily a bad trait to have in friendships.
 

According to these researchers, “those who swear more often are more comfortable expressing themselves and are therefore being more genuine than someone who refrains.” Thanks to this study, we now know that when someone swears around you, they are being their true selves and are actually just comfortable around you.

The research shows that “when a person swears, that they are more likely to be telling the truth and conveying their honest thoughts, opinions, and feelings.”
 

Although there are times and places that swearing is acceptable, and times where it actually is inappropriate, the research shows that there is nothing wrong with your friend who lets out a curse word in every other sentence to convey humor or honesty.

David Stilwell from the University of Cambridge states that “someone who does not filter their language, so swears, is more likely to be saying what they think to be true so are being more honest and genuine from their perspective.”
 

Do you have friends who swear often? If your friend group is known to be fluent in curse words, consider yourself lucky. Keeping these friends around may prove to be in your benefit, as they are seen by researchers as honest, genuine and openly expressive.

Let your swear-loving friends know that you are blessed to be in their lives, as their friendship is authentic and sincere.