Word: painfulness
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...exploration of the psychology of language. Pinker distinguishes cathartic cursing from using profanity descriptively, idiomatically, abusively or for emphasis, and points to similar behavior in animals that suggests its evolutionary roots. If you step on a dog or cat's tail, it will let out a sharp yelp of pain, for example. "Swearing probably comes from a very primitive reflex that evolved in animals," Pinker says. "In humans, our vocal tract has been hijacked by our language skills," so instead of barking out a random sound, "we articulate our yelp with a word colored with negative emotion...
...more complex cortex - the abundant gray matter on which humans rely for language and reason, among other sophisticated abilities. "We have intact frontal lobes, which inhibit these responses," Sidtis explains. But in certain circumstances - either because we don't bother to inhibit them or because the shock of pain or discomfort momentarily surpasses the safeguards - our impulse for obscenity takes over. "In that way, it's like the dog when you step on his tail," Sidtis says...
...consistent with fight or flight. But while it is typically fear that triggers the stress response, Stephens suggests the salient emotion in this case is not fear but aggression. "In swearing, people have an emotional response, and it's the emotional response that actually triggers the reduction of pain," says Stephens, whose next step is to research the relationship between induced aggression and reduction of pain. (In past studies, the opposite has been found: higher levels of pain tolerance predict heightened aggression...
...before you go yelling four-letter words at every turn, consider this: in Stephens' study, swearing reduced the perception of pain more strongly in women than in men. That may be because in daily life "men swear more than women," says Pinker, which could have the unfortunate side effect of dulling the natural painkiller. "[For women] I suspect that swearing retains more of an emotional punch because it has not been overused," he says...
...into China in 2008. Research Edge's Barber believes Beijing is buying current growth at the expense of the future. Politically, he acknowledges, Beijing's leadership may not have had any other realistic choice when the developed world collapsed last fall. "But I have no doubt there will be pain down the road" because of the lending binge, he says...