Study Claims Profanity Causes Aggression

[Silk_Sk]

"There is literature that shows the prosocial effects of media on children, the authors ignore these reports," he told Fox News. "The authors make no case for profanity being beneficial, as in humor elicitation, or social bonding, or as a coping mechanism, or as a relief from pain."

If they stopped to think for a second, they would realize that this is exactly why excessive use of profanity is harmful. Yes, it's an outlet to let off steam, but only when used infrequently. Excessive use of profanity makes the words less and less of an outlet which means there that one has to resort to other more harmful means to let out aggression. It makes perfect sense why kids who use more profanity are more aggressive.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

Wait, wait, wait, now we're trying to play the "stepping stone"/"gateway drug" game with words.

Dear researchers: you don't think there might be some confounding variables involved here, perhaps a few different interpretations of the causal relation?

Also: "BYU family professor". This research is clearly unbiased by unscientific, independent ethical concerns.

TL;DR: Some psychologists are really bad. Sturgeon's Relevation applies here as always.

"There is literature that shows the prosocial effects of media on children, the authors ignore these reports," he told Fox News. "The authors make no case for profanity being beneficial, as in humor elicitation, or social bonding, or as a coping mechanism, or as a relief from pain."

If they stopped to think for a second, they would realize that this is exactly why excessive use of profanity is harmful. Yes, it's an outlet to let off steam, but only when used infrequently. Excessive use of profanity makes the words less and less of an outlet which means there that one has to resort to other more harmful means to let out aggression. It makes perfect sense why kids who use more profanity are more aggressive.

Armchair psychology is not good psychology. You don't come to conclusions by "stopping and thinking for a second". The list of things that "make perfect sense" and turn out to be completely wrong is really fucking long.

 

[kouriichi]

Whats that? Cursing can cause you to become violent?
That cursing overrides all sense of logic, self preservation, intelligence and self restraint?

Its not the cursing that leads to violence. Its the lack of self control alot of people have these days. Attacking people claiming to be a vampire, stealing and then posting pics of you doing it on facebook, Trying to mug Chuck Norris. ((Yes, the last one was real. If you never heard about it, i suggest you google it for a good laugh))


Cursing isnt like a gateway drug. It isnt the cause of violence. I find it does the opposite for me. When im pissed at something i curse once or twice and get over it.

 

[Iron Mal]

Considering how profanities are merely words and as such have no meaning or impact besides that which we give them I have to call this claim into question.

Bellowing the foulest obscenities you can imagine at someone you hate with a burning and seething intensity whilst picturing a scenario involving you striking them to the ground only to pin them down and pound their face into the floor endlessly until your hands are broken and bloody and the floor is forever stained with the pink and red of brain tissue and is coated with the fine dust-like remains of what used to be a skull before the violent outburst (I've been bottling up my feelings of anger and sadness since the age of eight, what more do you expect?) may indeed result in one becoming very violent.

Merely saying the words 'fuck', 'shit' or '****', however, will not.

When it comes to words, context is everything.

Myself and my best friend swear at each other all the time and yet I cannot recall a single time when either of us have been violent towards each other or even angry at one another (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a friendship like this).

 

[Deacon Cole]

A religious school conducts a study and draws questionable conclusions.

What will the neighbor's think?

 

[Creator002]

It might be true. It might be not.

But I for one am still waiting for the day that researchers discover that "People who X also do Y" does not necessarily mean X causes Y.

Of course it does! Everyone who has heart problems has breathed oxygen, so it's obviously the leading cause in heart problems...

Yeah, I'm going to call bull on this too. I swear a fair bit, but I'm rarely violent (verbally and physically) to others. My last violent outburst was a culmination of a very bad day (almost literally everything went wrong) and some people getting on my nerves for the last time (and again, I didn't hit them, just warned them of what I'd do if I saw them again for the rest of the day).

 

[Sectan]

It might be true. It might be not.

But I for one am still waiting for the day that researchers discover that "People who X also do Y" does not necessarily mean X causes Y.

It was some article here on the escapist that said if somebody went with that same argument, it could be said that shoes cause most murders and crimes, because most criminals are wearing shoes when they commit them.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

Can I be the one who says "It's just a bunch of words, go home, they only mean something if you want them to." ?

Honestly if swearing is what causes violent aggression in kids, then shame on their parents for a horrible upbringing. I could't even say the word "ain't" in my house without a scolding from my mother.

 

[Kapol]

Cursing is just using words that we designated as bad for no real reason. "Fuck" is bad but "Sex" is fine. "Shit" and "crap" aren't good while "poop" is more childish. "Ass" has the same relationship as those two to "Butt." "*****" is used as an insult when it means female dog. And "****" is supposed to be bad while words like "pussy" are fine. I, for one, love the word ****. That's not me being sarcastic either. I just don't understand why some words are singled out for being bad... it's just silly.

 

[Kyogissun]

Bull-fucking-shit.

You know what causes swearing among teenagers? Shitty 'I don't give a fuck' parents who don't tell their kids to not curse and the ones who proceed to not smack said child if they continue to curse after being told to NOT curse.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I think the people who carried out this study neglected to account for several important variables which makes me question their credibility.

 

[DanDeFool]

This doesn't make any sense. For one thing, if you talk to people that curse a lot, that's a huge and obvious sampling bias. Isn't it reasonable to assume that people who have anger and aggression issues might be more prone to using aggressive language (like cursing) and engaging in violent pastimes (like violent video games)?

Correlation =/= Causation. It's like the first rule of doing any kind of statistics-based research. Why would anybody think this is even close to legiti-OH, WAIT.

Researchers at Brigham Young University claim that profanity in videogames and television causes aggressive behavior in kids.

(-_-)

Yeah, Mormons? Why don't you stop trying to moralize to everybody like a bunch of fucking clowns, and--oh, I don't know--DO SOME REAL FUCKING SCIENCE FOR A CHANGE GODDAMNIT IT MAKES ME SO FUCKING ANGRY FUCK-PISS-****-***** -GRAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!

Tomorrows Headline: Mormons doing fakey science just to moralize to everyone like a bunch of clowns causes aggression and profanity in everyone else.

 

[Synyster]

Well whether or not this is true, most aggressive behavior causes or goes hand-in-hand with profanity, simply because profanity is inherently used aggressively or at least mostly viewed as aggressive

 

[Synyster]

I'd read that Headline with both happiness and dread

 

[rekabdarb]

No fucking shit?

WHen the fuck has anyone said. "I fucking love you. Like that shit is as big as god damn god and if any ***** gets in the way of this cunting love i'll fucking eviscerate that asshole like there is no fucking tomorrow." to prove that you love someone... at least in a non ironic or satirical sense.

Might use that for a story i'm thinking of.

 

[Kakashi on crack]

Fucking nonsense. Its no more harmful that using any other word. Theres nothing magically tainting about the words themselves. If anything it would affect them due to the context.

This is kinda sorta how I see it. The word itself is just a word, people can say fuck fuckity fuck fuck all day long for all I care, it's not going to cause aggression.

Now, if we're talking about aggression in small children, I could see the "monkey see monkey do" aspect in which if a child hears said word used in an aggressive manner enough, they themselves might use it in an aggressive form, but the aggressive nature would have to be brought on by something else, not the expletive itself.

By the time we reach our teenage years though, I think most people who are aggressive are going to be aggressive, and passives passive. It has nothing to do with how much we swear. (hell I know some extremely passive people who curse on a constant basis)

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

I curse like a sailor on the River Styx, but I vent out my aggression through exercise.

As far as video games are concerned, there's a good chance that most of the "problem people" in question are too young to be playing those games in the first place. I couldn't stand Xbox Live and had to quit when it seemed impossible to have decent folks on there in a random match without some loudmouth with the mentality of a baby kangaroo ruining the entire experience.

I think anonymity plays a much greater role in these social problems, especially in today's media-centered world. Just look at the various online/phone conversations expressed solely in text. For every ounce of civility, there is an ocean of unrest, bigotry, immaturity, and online-ego that boils into textual aggression. Without someone to slap their hands (e.g. a moderator or admin), the behavior continues. Now you know what's funny? I think life has its own moderators and admins in the household. I wonder, oh how I wonder, who these people could be, and how they could positively affect kids...

 

[Coruptin]

Once again, people confusing correlation with causation. Move along, nothing to see here.

Why do these people never take into account correlation vs. causation?

damn ninja'd

 

[Baresark]

Interesting. I'm definitely no expert, but he could easily have it backwards. People who are interested in games that are violent and full of profanity are actually more violent in nature than someone who is not interested in violent videogames that are full of profanity. I guess what I mean is: someone who is violent will seek out these types of games. Though, I have to say, I have been exposed to profanity my whole life. But I choose not to use it when I know it's inappropriate. And I don't go out of my way to use it, or play violent videogames. That is just me, I suppose there is the chance I could just be better than everyone that participated in the study.

 

[lumenadducere]

So, wait, the conservative Mormon university finds that swearing causes violence? Shocking. Seriously, I am completely and utterly astounded that such a thing could ever occur.

On a more serious note, even an undergrad knows that correlation does not equal causality. It's the first thing you learn in research methodology - it's hammered into you from day one, and any self-respecting psychologist doing research should jump off a cliff if they ever claim such. But I guess proper methodology in the field of psychology would come second to following the tenets of the Mormon faith. Credit to science, these folks are not.