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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Performance Science

Swearing Enhances Manual Dexterity

Provisionally accepted
Nicholas B WashmuthNicholas B Washmuth1*Dominic BromleyDominic Bromley2Kieran BromleyKieran Bromley3Christopher G BallmannChristopher G Ballmann4,5Sophia PorrillSophia Porrill4Richard StephensRichard Stephens2
  • 1The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, United States
  • 2Keele University School of Psychology, Keele, United Kingdom
  • 3Keele University School of Medicine, Keele, United Kingdom
  • 4University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Human Studies, Birmingham, United States
  • 5University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Health Professions Research Collaborative, Birmingham, United States

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Swearing, or the use of taboo language, has been linked to increased psychological flow, self-confidence, and state disinhibition, raising the possibility that it may function as a psychological warm-up to enhance fine motor skills. This study investigated whether repeating a swear word, compared to a neutral word, improves manual dexterity. Two randomized, repeated-measures experiments were conducted. Experiment #1 (n = 61) assessed manual dexterity using the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test (MMDT) and state disinhibition via the Stop-Signal Reaction Test (SSRT). Experiment #2 (n = 42) used the Nine-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT) and examined the moderating role of daily swearing frequency. In both experiments, participants repeated a self-selected swear or neutral word for 15 seconds before performing the dexterity task. Swearing significantly improved performance on both the MMDT (p < 0.001, η2p = 0.268) and the 9-HPT (p = .036, η2p = 0.105). However, no differences in state disinhibition were observed between conditions, and daily swearing frequency did not moderate the effects. These findings suggest swearing enhances manual dexterity, but mediating and moderating factors remains unclear.

Keywords: manual dexterity, Minnesota Manual DexterityTest, Nine-hole peg test, psychological warm-up, Swearing

Received: 30 Jul 2025; Accepted: 09 Dec 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Washmuth, Bromley, Bromley, Ballmann, Porrill and Stephens. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Nicholas B Washmuth

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material