Swearing by Peers in the Work Setting: Expectancy Violation Valence, Perceptions of Message, and Perceptions of Speaker

Abstract

Swearing is a frequent language form in a number of contexts, including the work setting. This investigation extends research on expectancy violations theory as an explanation for how people perceive swearing by examining violation valence. Study 1 concludes that violation valence is positively related to perceptions of message appropriateness and effectiveness and to perceptions of the speaker. Study 2 replicates these findings using a national sample. These results provide support for the role of expectancy violations in swearing and show that swearing is not always perceived as negative in work settings.

Keywords:

• Communication Competence
• Expectancy Violations Theory
• Swearing
• Workplace Communication

Notes

Note. Intercorrelations above the diagonal are from Study 1 and intercorrelations below the diagonal are from Study 2.

*p < .05. **p < .01.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Danette Ifert Johnson

Danette Ifert Johnson is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Ithaca College. Data for this article were collected under the auspices of the Time Shared Experiments in the Social Sciences (NSF Grant #0818839), Jeremy Freese and Penny Visser, Principal Investigators. This project was completed with the support of a Summer Research Grant from Ithaca College.