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When you mess up, or get angry or hurt, you may find yourself reaching for some words that ...
你在陷入困境、生氣或受傷的時候，可能會發現自己想說一些話...
well, your mom might not be so proud of.
哦，你媽媽可能不會為這些話感到自豪。
But regardless of what you were told as a kid, sometimes swearing just feels like the right way to deal with things.
但是不管你小時候被告知過什么，有時候說臟話就像處理事情的正確方法。
Psychologists are just starting to research why we swear and whether or not it could be helpful,
心理學家們剛剛開始研究我們為什么說臟話以及它是否有幫助，
so there's still a lot we don't know about how it affects our brains.
所以對于它影響我們大腦的方式，我們仍有很多不知道的地方。
But it turns out that as far as language goes, curse words are pretty powerful.
但事實證明，就語言而言，臟話是相當有力量的。
A lot of that power comes from taboo concepts, like sex or disrespect for authority.
它的很多力量來自于禁忌的概念，比如性或者對權威的不尊重。
I mean, how many can you think of that aren't in at least one of those categories?
我的意思是，你能想出多少個不屬于這一類的臟話？
Wait! Don't answer that. The point is, when we swear,
等一下，不要回答。問題在于，當我們說臟話時，
we're invoking concepts that are traditionally viewed as shocking to really drive home what we're feeling.
我們正在喚起那些傳統上被視為令人震驚的思想，以此來真正表達我們的感受。
They're kind of like honking the horn on your car: they get a lot of attention, really fast.
它們就像你在車上按喇叭：它們會非常快地得到很多關注。
So it's possible that when we swear after hurting ourselves,
所以很可能我們在受傷后說臟話
we're trying to grab that attention and emphasize that we're overwhelmed by the pain.
是在試圖抓住人們的注意力，并強調我們被痛苦淹沒了。
Almost like a yelping animal, we spit out something that communicates not just that we're hurt,
我們非常像一只尖叫的動物，說出的話不僅能傳達我們受傷了，
but that it's almost too much to handle.
而且還傳達出它超出控制范圍的含義。
But, as is often the case with psychology, that's probably not the whole picture.
但就像心理學常見的案例一樣，這可能不是全部。
Even though research on swearing is pretty limited,
即使關于說臟話的研究相當有限，
one experiment suggested that swearing could also be a way to protect us from pain.
但一項實驗仍表明，說臟話可以保護我們免受痛苦。
The main study on this was published in 2009 in the journal NeuroReport,
這項實驗的主要研究發表在2009年的《神經報告》（NeuroReport）上，
where researchers tested whether swearing had an effect on how people perceived pain.
研究人員在實驗中測試了說臟話是否影響人們對疼痛的感知。
They had 67 undergraduates from Keele University in the UK dunk their hands in a tub of icy cold water,
他們讓英國基爾大學的67名本科生把手浸在冰水盆里，
then measured whether swearing changed how long they could keep their hand in the tub.
然后測量說臟話是否改變他們的手放在冰水盆里的時間。
Subjects submerged their hands twice:
受試者兩次把手伸進冰水里：
once while swearing like a sailor, and once while repeating a neutral, non-sweary word.
一次像水手一樣說臟話，一次重復性得說一些中性的、非說臟話的話。
Each time, they were asked to rate the pain they'd experienced,
他們每次都被要求評估他們經歷的痛苦，
as well as fill out some surveys on anxiety and fear of pain.
以及填寫一些關于焦慮和對痛苦的恐懼的調查。
The researchers found that swearing every few seconds helped people
研究人員發現，每隔幾秒鐘說一次臟話能幫助人們
keep their hand in the tub for longer than when they weren't allowed to swear.
把手放在冰水盆里更久，比他們不被允許說臟話時的時間長。
All the subjects also reported less pain when swearing.
所有受試者都報告稱說臟話時疼痛感較低。
So the authors concluded that swearing increased people's tolerance to pain.
于是作者得出結論，說臟話可以增強人們對疼痛的忍耐力。
Some researchers think this could be because swearing taps into parts of the brain that control our emotions.
一些研究人員認為這可能是因為說臟話會刺激大腦中控制情緒的區域。
Something about saying words so emotionally loaded and taboo
說一些帶有感情色彩和禁忌的詞
may cause an emotion that stops us from feeling so anxious about being in pain,
可能會引起一種情緒，阻止我們對痛苦產生焦慮，
which could make that tub of icy water feel less threatening.
這可能會讓那盆冰水感覺不那么危險了。
Basically, swearing helps people separate their fear of pain from their experience of pain.
從根本上說，說臟話可以幫助人們將他們對疼痛的恐懼和痛苦經歷分開。
Instead, the emotions people feel when they're swearing trigger the sympathetic nervous system,
相反的是，人們說臟話時的情緒會觸發交感神經系統，
which throws their body into fight-or-flight mode.
它將他們的身體投入戰斗或逃跑模式。
Instead of being distracted by fear, they prepare to either take on the threat or run for their lives.
他們沒有被恐懼分散注意力，而是準備應對威脅或逃命。
That 2009 study found that people's heart rates were higher while they were swearing,
2009年的一項研究發現，人們說臟話時的心率更高，
which supports the idea that they were experiencing fight-or-flight.
這支持了他們正在經歷戰斗或逃跑模式的觀點。
Their bodies were full of adrenaline, as though they were confronting a dangerous situation.
他們的身體充滿了腎上腺素，好像他們正面臨一個危險處境似的。
The exact swear-induced-emotion that pulls people into that state is still up for debate,
將人們帶入這種狀態的說臟話誘發情緒的確切觀點仍有待討論，
although the authors of the study suggested that it might be aggression.
盡管研究作者認為這可能一種侵犯。
And then those same researchers did another study earlier this year,
接著，這些研究人員在今年早些時候做了另一項研究，
and their results are calling that whole fight-or-flight thing into question.
他們的研究結果讓整個戰斗或逃跑模式都遭受質疑。
The team figured that if swearing was triggering the fight or flight response,
該研究小組認為，如果說臟話會引發戰斗或逃跑反應，
athletes would perform better while swearing.
那么運動員說臟話的時候會表現得更好。
And they found that athletes' power and grip strength improved when they summoned up those swears, just like they expected.
他們發現，當運動員們像他們預期的那樣大聲咒罵時，他們的力量和握力都得到了改善。
But the heart rate changes just weren't there,
但是他們的心率沒有變化，
they weren't seeing physical evidence of an increased fight-or-flight response that would help separate fear from pain.
他們沒有看到身體證據，表明更多的“戰或逃”反應有助于把恐懼和痛苦區分開來。
So, we're sort of back to square one.
所以，我們回到了起點。
We have evidence that swearing does increase your ability to tolerate pain,
我們有證據表明說臟話確實能提高你忍受疼痛的能力，
and it does improve your physical performance in exercise.
而且它確實能改善你的運動表現。
But we don't know exactly why.
但我們不知道具體原因。
As with so many topics in psychology, and language for that matter, the reasons for swearing are complicated.
就像心理學和語言中的許多話題一樣，說臟話的原因也很復雜。
So we'll have to do more studies to get the whole story on why potty mouths kill pain.
所以我們需要做更多研究來了解滿口臟話能殺死疼痛的來龍去脈。
But until then, the next time you step on a LEGO ... we won't judge you if you let loose.
但在下次你踩上樂高之前……如果你撒手不管，我們不會批評你的。
And if you're interested in watching some of the SciShow team and friends let loose
如果你有興趣看一些科學秀的成員和朋友們
while trying to amaze each other with science,
試圖用科學來讓彼此驚奇時候的隨心所欲，
you can check us out on what we'll just call Holy (bleep)ing Science,
你可以看看我們所謂的神圣科學，
the science podcast that is very much not for children.
這是一個非常不適合兒童的科學播客。
