Want a free performance boost? Science says try swearing

Image credit: Ngan Le Quynh via Vecteezy. Article by Bronwyn Thompson. New Atlas – December 18, 2025. Research article: American Psychologist. Source: Keele University.

If you’re after a free, simple boost for pushing through challenges, try swearing your way to your goals. A new study has uncovered the surprising psychological effect that cursing in the heat of the moment has – for the swearer, at least. Eight years ago we covered the last swearing study from Keele University, also led by senior lecturer Richard Stephens, who has become the world’s leading curse-word researcher. It established that swearing provided some kind of strength boost, but the mechanism behind this wasn’t well understood. […]

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