Swearing has long thought to be a vulgar personality trait. There are so many words in the English language and yet some people love to use just a few swear words to express how they feel. Mums and dads tend not to be big fans of these expletive-centric people, often covering their kids' ears when someone drops a couple of F-bombs in a sentence.
However, there does seem to be at least one redeeming quality that potty-mouth enthusiasts possess: more honesty.
According to a study from the University of Cambridge, those who like to bash out a fuck or a shit every now and then are less likely to be associated with lying or deception.
More than 270 people asked about their favourite curse words, why they like them, whether they use them much and then asked them a bunch of questions during a lie detector test. Well lo and behold, you can only guess what the results were.
A further 75,000 people's Facebook pages were studied and researchers again found a correlation between profanities and honesty.
University of Cambridge co-author of the study, Dr David Stillwell, said: "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."
The study drew from several sources to help their case, including a 2011 paper which found that innocent suspects were more likely to use swear words than guilty ones, as well as a 2005 article discovering testimonies with a bunch of profanities were deemed to be more credible than ones without.
But it's not just an honest conscience that kicks in when calling someone a c**t; it can reportedly also help ease pain. A study published in NeuroReport looked into how long college students could keep their hands in freezing cold water.
Surprisingly, those who yelled out a bunch of expletives reported less pain and could keep their hands in for 40 seconds longer than those who didn't.
A bunch of other research papers have also found it can help you feel more in control, help you bond with people and keep you engaged.
So there you have it, next time you're planning on holding back from saying bloody, shit, fuck or any other of those brilliant words - give it a go, it might help you be more honest.
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Sources: University of Cambridge
Topics: Study, UK News, News, Research, Interesting, swearing