Taboo words provoke certain responses in readers' heart rates and brains, diminishing their attention and memory, research has shown. A new paper by scholars at the University of Illinois suggests ...

Flinders University and U.K. researchers have analyzed the use of disability-related taboo words to better understand how certain terms are used in the community and shed light on their negative and ...

A recent study published in the journal Psychophysiology provides evidence that the human brain processes taboo words in a completely unique way compared to regular negative or neutral language. The ...

Language does much more than just convey information. It expresses emotions, establishes social connections, and even challenges norms. Taboo language is one of its most intriguing facets. These "off ...

Read Clarence Page's Chicago Tribune piece "Words with negative power." In an effort to be more precise, accurate and neutral, the Associated Press decided to remove several words, including ...

In words, as in bathing suits and men’s manners toward women, taboos change with the times. Fifty years ago the word leg was not used in polite mixed company. Today, at respectable dinner tables, ...

What makes a swear word? Why are some words more profane than others? Temple University researcher Jamie Reilly et al. examine this question in a new paper called "Building the perfect curse word: A ...

A new paper suggests that the physiological and psychological effects of profanity and other taboo words on people who read or hear them may be due largely -- but not entirely -- to the context and ...