“Don't hold back”: Swearing improves strength through state disinhibition.

Abstract

Swearing, often dismissed as socially inappropriate, has been linked to increased physical performance. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. One proposed explanation is state disinhibition, a psychological state in which individuals are less likely to restrain their behavior. This study tested whether swearing enhances physical performance and whether that effect was mediated by psychological variables linked to state disinhibition. Two preregistered, repeated measures experiments (N = 88; N = 94) and an aggregated analysis including a prior preregistered study (total N = 300) examined the impact of repeating a self-selected swear word versus a neutral word on a chair push-up task. Experiments assessed potential mediators related to state disinhibition, including psychological flow, distraction, humor, and self-confidence. Both experiments replicated the swearing advantage, showing significant performance improvements in the swearing condition. Although mediation analyses varied across individual experiments, the aggregated analysis demonstrated that psychological flow, distraction, and self-confidence significantly mediated the swearing effect. These findings suggest that swearing promotes psychological states conducive to maximizing effort and overcoming internal constraints. These effects have potential implications for athletic performance, rehabilitation, and contexts requiring courage or assertiveness. As such, swearing may represent a low-cost, widely accessible psychological intervention to help individuals “not hold back” when peak performance is needed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)