People who swear daily are often considered poorly educated or linguistically limited. According to psychologists, this belief would be completely wrong, since they would be our most honest friends, and have much better language skills than we grant them!
Often, the embarrassment settles in front of certain individuals whose language can appear vulgar. Indeed, they give the impression of having no filter, hence the discomfort that occurs in certain social situations. However, a study published by Stanford University claims the importance of befriending such people, because under their hard and rude appearances, they hide real friends!
Almost everyone agrees that extremely intelligent people see the world in a way that is unique to them. As history shows, Galileo was first considered insane before his theories on Earth were accepted. Indeed, some individuals with a higher IQ have a unique perspective, and they generally do not hesitate to claim despite opposing opinions.
Surprisingly, the study conducted by Kristin Joy and Timothy Jay shows that these people with remarkable intelligence would be able to produce the most creative curses! According to these two psychologists, swear words do not reflect a lack of education or intellect, quite the opposite.
Why do we swear?
Subject around which turns their study, the reasons which push us to swear intrigue these two professionals to the highest point. In a comprehensive book, they explain the mechanisms behind what is often perceived as verbal vulgarity.
Most of us tend to avoid people who swear a lot. Indeed, this habit that is often characterized as "bad" conveys the impression that these people are unable to express themselves properly, and that their reasoning skills are therefore reduced. However, psychologists say that the ability to continually develop swear words would be representative of sustained vocabulary and verbal fluency. In addition, this characteristic defines people with a high intelligence quotient through verbal creativity.
Why do you have friends who swear?
Since our youngest age, we are conditioned to avoid swearing, especially when we are in public. Indeed, the general rule dictates that it is bad to speak vulgarly in the presence of others. Beyond the embarrassment that this could cause, the person concerned might be perceived as an individual of average intelligence. According to Kristin Joy and Timothy Jay, the truth could not be more different. As they explain in their work:
"People who are comfortable using taboo words are able to understand general expressions as well as nuanced distinctions in order to develop their swear words appropriately. "
"Their ability to create these nuances indicates the presence of linguistic knowledge more developed than we believe"
Moreover, honesty would be added to their list of qualities. A second study relayed by our colleagues from the Independent is interested in the interactions of 276 people in the laboratory and 73,789 people on Facebook. The verdict leaves no room for doubt: the most honest are those who swear the most.
Indeed, psychologists explain that people who swear daily can easily express their feelings. Therefore, they would have more facility to share their opinion in front of individuals who would be more on restraint.
Obviously, the opinions differ from the results of this study, and some claim that honesty is subjective depending on the context in which it is established. As Psychology Today explains, the ability of some people to swear without considering the social norms around them could indicate that the individual is not afraid to break the rules, so having more easy to lie and dishonesty.
