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Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

neurosciencenews.com

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Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#31

Post by smcnally »

donquichotte wrote: post #4

"The research found that those who used more profanity were also more likely to use language patterns that have been shown in previous research to be related to honesty, such as using pronouns like “I” and “me”." I wish they gave a source for the relationship between using these pronouns and telling the truth. Also, just looking at facebook users introduces a bloody selection bias.

w/r/t selection bias, "As of the third quarter of 2016, Facebook had 1.79 billion monthly active users." https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly...

Their sample pool covers better than 25% of the human population.

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#32

Post by zer0t3ch »

taeric wrote: post #25
milesf wrote: post #24

I don't buy it. I know people with clean language that I don't trust, and friends who swear that I do. But in general I see profanity and anger as a red flag in relationships to be heeded, because it shows a general lack of respect towards others. Next thing you know, evil will be good and good will be evil. Oh, wait a sec...

Anecdotally, you have some supporting evidence but ultimately don't trust it. That seems silly. You also conflate anger and profanity. Which is clearly a load of shit. They are distinct things. I doubt it is cut and dried, but I'm interested in the research. And I distrust it as much because it confirms my general beliefs. And that should be a red flag for everyone.

> a load of shit

Your comment is anecdotal proof that profanity doesn't have jack shit to do with anger.

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#33

Post by zer0t3ch »

jghn wrote: post #30
edblarney wrote: post #18

This should not be surprising. I'd say two things, which are related: 1) Profanity itself is a form of crude honestly - in any remotely genteel social setting - 'profanity' is usually politically costly. Would you swear in an interview? No. Ok - there are some times when 'people in power' can swear as a form of strength/power projection - but that aside ... People who 'control' their behaviour mostly to 'be polite' -…

"Would you swear in an interview? No." Yes. And if someone held it against me it's unlikely to be a place I want to work.

In fairness, I assume you would still try to swear less in an interview, no?

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#34

Post by taeric »

zer0t3ch wrote: post #32
taeric wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, you have some supporting evidence but ultimately don't trust it. That seems silly. You also conflate anger and profanity. Which is clearly a load of shit. They are distinct things. I doubt it is cut and dried, but I'm interested in the research. And I distrust it as much because it confirms my general beliefs. And that should be a red flag for everyone.

> a load of shit Your comment is anecdotal proof that profanity doesn't have jack shit to do with anger.

I realized later that I left out a smiley, or better evidence of humor. Hopefully it was taken as intended by everyone!

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#35

Post by edblarney »

maxerickson wrote: post #29
edblarney wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this should be downvoted, I think it is essentially correct. Only people who are 'learned communicators' have the amount of self control to both 'not swear' but also use their communication skills to curry favour, which may involve manipulating the truth subtly or egregiously. About 50% of the time, the 'raw truth' is a little rugged, and smart communicators learn how to 'change the tone' of information…

This 'learned communicators' thing is silly. Pretty much everyone knows they aren't supposed to swear at a priest. Many of the ones that do anyway are being transgressive.

Obviously everyone knows not to swear in front of their Mothers-in-laws or in front of customers ...

But some people are far and away better communicators than others.

Far and away.

It's the big soft skill that a lot of 'inside only people' don't have, and often don't recognize or value in 'outside facing people' at the company :).

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#36

Post by Diederich »

zer0t3ch wrote: post #33
jghn wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Would you swear in an interview? No." Yes. And if someone held it against me it's unlikely to be a place I want to work.

In fairness, I assume you would still try to swear less in an interview, no?

I read the interviewer carefully, which often leads me to be comfortable with some amount of profanity.

This is actually pretty much the same approach I take all the time, with everyone.

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#37

Post by oddlyaromatic »

jghn wrote: post #30
edblarney wrote: post #18

This should not be surprising. I'd say two things, which are related: 1) Profanity itself is a form of crude honestly - in any remotely genteel social setting - 'profanity' is usually politically costly. Would you swear in an interview? No. Ok - there are some times when 'people in power' can swear as a form of strength/power projection - but that aside ... People who 'control' their behaviour mostly to 'be polite' -…

"Would you swear in an interview? No." Yes. And if someone held it against me it's unlikely to be a place I want to work.

Interesting. I mean, do what works for you but to me, swearing in an interview shows weird judgement. I would not put a lot of confidence in someone who makes that choice to be easy to work with, professional, and treat their coworkers with respect. I'd just think, you know, this asshole doesn't want to have a respectful relationship, and doesn't really get this situation. I swear plenty but I hold it in at work. I've never interviewed somebody who swore in the interview (a couple words wouldn't be a big deal I guess)... But I have interviewed people who gave off other signs of poor judgement. One of the things I really need in my (non-tech) industry is people I can trust to independently make good choices in many situations among different kinds of people. Surely most employers need that.

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#38

Post by oddlyaromatic »

imesh wrote: post #22
geomark wrote: post #20

I like how comedian Jerry Seinfeld put it: "If you have to use profanity in a joke then you failed to nail it." Applies to other things as well. It may be a (crude) indication of honesty, but it is a clear indication of failure.

Yeah but here is the thing about Jerry,he is the only clean comic who is funny at all. Outside of him almost all the great comedians will throw a fuck or a shit in there. Dave Chappelle and Louie CK are far from failures.

Jim Gaffigan! Mitch Hedberg, by and large, too. But yes there are lots of comedians who swear profusely and are/were great.

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#39

Post by geomark »

imesh wrote: post #22
geomark wrote: post #20

I like how comedian Jerry Seinfeld put it: "If you have to use profanity in a joke then you failed to nail it." Applies to other things as well. It may be a (crude) indication of honesty, but it is a clear indication of failure.

Yeah but here is the thing about Jerry,he is the only clean comic who is funny at all. Outside of him almost all the great comedians will throw a fuck or a shit in there. Dave Chappelle and Louie CK are far from failures.

Sure. But my point really was that use of profanity in most endeavors is a sign of failure.

Re: Study Finds Link Between Profanity and Honesty

#40

Post by zzalpha »

jghn wrote: post #30
edblarney wrote: post #18

This should not be surprising. I'd say two things, which are related: 1) Profanity itself is a form of crude honestly - in any remotely genteel social setting - 'profanity' is usually politically costly. Would you swear in an interview? No. Ok - there are some times when 'people in power' can swear as a form of strength/power projection - but that aside ... People who 'control' their behaviour mostly to 'be polite' -…

"Would you swear in an interview? No." Yes. And if someone held it against me it's unlikely to be a place I want to work.

Well, I'd hold it against you (well, unless I set the precedent by swearing first...) :)

In many professional settings (e.g. when in front of a client), where you may not be familiar with the social norms of those you're interacting with, the ability to effectively code switch is critical. I see that as part of basic professional judgement.

So, absolutely, with your co-workers, swear away if that's part of the culture.

But in a setting with someone unfamiliar? Like, say, an interview? Sorry buddy, but there's a lot of shops where that'll count against you.

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