Hearing Insults Are Like Verbal Slaps to the Face; New Research Explores Link Between Language and Emotion

Verbal insults may not always be intentional, but their effects could leave an emotional scar. That is what psycholinguistics are studying in new research titled "Do People Get Used to Insulting Language?," published in Frontiers in Communication.

Researchers found that hearing insults are like receiving a "mini slap in the face" regardless of how the abuse is made. They used electroencephalography (EEG) and skin conductance (SC) recordings to compare the short-term impacts of repeated positive evaluations and verbal insults, providing a unique opportunity to research the link between language and emotion.

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Hearing Insults are Like Verbal Slaps to the Face; New Research Explores Link Between Language and Emotion

Verbal Insults Recorded in Long-Term Memory

Researchers examined insults or verbal slaps in the face were examined to see whether processing verbal insults is less sensitive to repeated compliments, Phys.org reported.

Corresponding author Dr. Marijn Struiksma of Utrecht University said verbal insults trigger a cascade of overlapping processes in different parts that might be differently affected. Some may rapidly wear off, while others might remain strongly responsive.

They used EEG and SC in 79 female participants who were asked to read a series of repeated statements that are divided into three categories: insults like "Linda is horrible," compliments like "Linda is impressive," and neutral statements that are factually descriptive like "Linda is Dutch."

To see whether there is a difference when the statements are directed towards them or not, half of the three sets used the name of the participant and the other half used somebody else's. There was no real interaction during the experiment and men said all statements.

They found that in a lab setting where no real human interactions are present, verbal insults can still affect a person no matter who the insult is about and if said in repetition. EEG shows that P2 amplitude, the waveform of event-related potential (ERP), was robust over repetition.

Meanwhile, participants perceived verbal insults as mini slaps, the fave in the experiment setting. Struiksma noted that this shows that a psycholinguistics setting with no real interaction with the speakers delivers verbal slaps in the face and automatically grabs the attention during lexical retrieval.

The findings reveal that brains with increased sensitivity to negative words could easily capture insults and attach emotional meaning to them, recording them in long-term memory. On the other hand, compliments elicited a less intense effect that shows a negativity bias in the amount of attention.

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The Psychology of Verbal Insults

Yiannis Gabriel, Professor of Organisational Theory at the University of Bath, pointed out that insults involve two parties: the perpetrator and an insulted party. But why do people cause harm to others?

Hermann Hesse, a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, once said, "If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us."

A few psychologists believe each person has something they do not want to expose or speak of because it is undesirable and negative. But when suppressed concerns and feelings are not treated or dealt with, it causes someone to use insult to unleash anger, escape dealing with pain or trauma, and use it as their way to exert control over another person and feel powerful, Gulf News reported.

People utter insults because they do not know any better. They just repeat what they saw at home, school, and work, where insulting becomes a habit.

Insults can be in many forms, like when valued objects are defamed, symbols desecrated, gifts returned, and invitations refused. Also, it can be brutal, unambiguous and direct, subtle, can be detected in facial expressions, or leave the room for a face-saving retreat.