Espinosa 1

Mario Adam Espinosa

Collette Caton
Writing Seminar
25 April 2016
Annotated Bibliography
Coyne, Sarah M., Laura A. Stockdale, David A. Nelson, and Ashley Fraser. "Profanity in Media
Associated With Attitudes and Behavior Regarding Profanity Use and Aggression."
Pediatrics 128.5 (2009): n. pag. AAP Gateway. Nov. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Rhetorical Precis:
o In the authors Profanity in Media Associated With Attitudes and Behavior
Regarding Profanity Use and Aggression, an experiment is conducted and
conclusions regarding a correlation between exposure to profanity and aggressive
behavior is found. These authors are professors at various universities. They
specialize in media and language. They followed a procedure and drew
conclusions from the experiment they conducted. The results are significant
because it shows a direct association between exposure to profanity through
media and engagement in aggressive behavior. This text is intended for academic
persons. It is significant because it shows the direct effects of profanity in media

on young adults.
Key Words and Passages:
o aggressive behavior
o profanity
o relationship
o media
o exposure
o Profanity use is rife in media. In an attempt to reduce the exposure of children
and adolescents to profanity, producers of television programs containing

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profanity may choose to assign an L rating, which shows that the program
contains language that might not be appropriate for some age groups.
o Furthermore, other studies have found that exposure to profanity can induce a
numbing effect on normal emotional responses.
o In the long-term, scripts regarding profanity might be created and strengthened,
which would increase the likelihood of profanity use. Adolescents and children
might be particularly vulnerable to these effects, because behavioral constructs are

still being developed during these formative years.

Uses and Limits:
o U: This text can be used to help understand why young adults and children are
starting to use language that was once considered taboo.
o U: This text shows the efforts of media to censor profanity and how the damage is
inevitable in some cases.
o L: This text only covers a small time frame. It does not show what modern day
subjects could result in.
o L: This experiment only tests people from the United States. Results may vary
based on location.
o This text is a very useful aid in understanding just how much of an influence
media has on young minds. It really shows the extent to which profanity can have
on someones life and how unavoidable this language has become. It is significant
because it shows that aggressive behavior can be an effect of medias language.

Cressman, Dale L., Mark Callister, Tom Robinson, and Chris Near. SWEARING IN THE
CINEMA An Analysis of Profanity in US Teen-oriented Movies, 19802006 3.2 (2009):
118-35. Journal of Children and Media, 2009. Web.

Rhetorical Precis:
o In SWEARING IN THE CINEMA An analysis of profanity in US teen-oriented
movies, 1980-2006 it is concluded that profanity use has increased drastically

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within the last few decades. This drastic change has been very prevalent in teenoriented movies. Children and teens are hearing language that is considered
inappropriate and taboo. They are repeating these phrases and acquiring new
knowledge from media. The audience of the text is anyone who is interested in
learning about the growth of taboo language. The significance of this text is that it
shows how taboo language has grown to become appropriate and has even

become part of teenagers everyday language.

Key Words and Passages:
o language
o Americans
o taboo
o teenagers
o Timothy Jay
o Sociologists have also expressed concern that, with heavy exposure, coarse,
violent, and sexualized media messagesincluding profanity, which is considered
a form of verbal aggressioncan desensitize media viewers (Griffiths &
Shuckford, 1989; Martin, Anderson, & Cos, 1997) (page 118).
o Social construction discourse holds that words and phrases in and of themselves
are not inherently good or bad; they gain either legitimacy or taboo status through
societys reaction to them (page 119).
o As mentioned, profanity types used often depend on the gender of the person
using the profanity. Males consider the use of profanity a demonstration of social
power (Hughes, 1991; Selnow, 1985), whereas females are generally less
accepting of profanity, especially among their own sex (Cohen & Saine, 1977)

(page 127).
Uses and Limits:
o U: Can be used to analyze how language between teenagers decades ago and
teenagers now use profanity differently.

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o U: Uses a strong experiment to draw conclusions from. Represents the teenager
community rather well.
o L: It only focuses on teenagers for the experiment. It is one sided.
o L: The data collected is only from a specific time frame and cannot represent
teenagers in modern day. 3
o This text provides great insight to how profanity has changed regarding different
ratings. Teen movies are widely recognized by its respective audience throughout
the country and have a huge impact on millions of people. Seeing this data shows
just how much of an impact media has on young minds.

Foust, Michael. "Generation Gap: Moral Beliefs of Young, Old Differ Greatly." Global Action
on Aging. Global Action on Aging, 4 Nov. 2003. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Rhetorical Precis:
o In Michael Fousts article Generation gap: moral beliefs of young, old differ
greatly he explains the statistics of different age groups and their beliefs on
several topics. Michael Foust is an editor and writer for several online news
companies. His expertise was in sports but in 1999 went into Christian writing.
In his article, he sums up the findings in a poll conducted by the Barna Research
Group. He finds the most profound percentages and important numbers and
concisely presents them. He does this to give the audience a better understanding
of what the purpose behind the poll was and why it is important to understand the

data fully.
Key Words and Passages:
o generation gap
o poll
o morals
o America

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o beliefs
o The poll of 1,024 adults was conducted in October and asked respondents their
beliefs on 10 ethical and moral issues.
o The younger generations are significantly more accepting of the behaviors than
are the older generations.
o "Most of the people we interviewed believe that they are highly moral individuals

and identify other people as responsible for the nation's moral decline,"
Uses and Limits:
o U: The data collected covers some very important and severe issues. It gives a
good representation of how a lot of people feel.
o U: The data is collected only from Americans so it can provide a decent
understanding from a specific culture.
o L: The study only polled 1024 adults. It could in no way represent everyone in the
United States.
o L: The poll took place in 2003, since then things have changed and people
alongside.
o This poll covers some very important topics but it only polls a small amount of
people from a single developed country. It could in no way represent the feelings
of anyone outside the United States. The poll happened in 2003 and since then
many ideals have changed and people have changed their views of one another.

Hughes, Geoffrey, and David Crystal. Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths, and
Profanity in English. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1991. Print.

Rhetorical Precis:
o In Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths, and Profanity in
English Hughes, Geoffrey, and Crystal discuss the history of swearing. They
work all the way back to the 1800s and discuss the origin of todays swearing.
These authors collaborated and created a book for a very dedicated audience. This

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information is for serious linguists and historians. The book is quite lengthy and
contains many depictions of early uses of swearing. The significance of this book
is that it goes where no one else wants to go. It goes all the way back to the origin

of swearing and looks into all the different variations.

Key Words and Passages:
o history
o language
o society
o discourse
o swearing
o These observations and notable practitioners remind us of the continuing
currency of coarse speech which, though staple to many tongues, has generally
been ignored in standard histories of the language, even some of the most recent.
o Swearing now encompasses so many disparate forms that some broad
distinctions need to be made at outset. We swear by, we swear that, we swear to,
we swear at, and sometimes we swear simply out of exasperation.
o As was mentioned previously, swearing shows a curious convergence of the high

and the low, the sacred and the profane.

Uses and Limits:
o U: This text can be used to help understand how swearing came to be and how it
has changed.
o U: This text can be used in a comparison between ancient swearing and what is
being used in modern day.
o L: This text is very detailed and is not simplified at all. One would have to read
the entire text in detail to understand its concepts.
o L: This text is only pertaining to the past. It doesnt go into extreme detail
regarding current language.
o This text is very strong in establishing why and where something came to be. It
explains the deep origins of swearing and how it evolved through many different
languages.

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Jacobi, Lora L. "Perceptions of Profanity: How Race, Gender, and Expletive Choice Affect
Perceived Offensiveness." ProQuest. North American Journal of Psychology, June 2014.
Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Rhetorical Precis:
o In Psychology Professor Lora Jacobis research paper Perceptions of Profanity:
How Race, Gender, and Expletive Choice Affect Perceived Offensiveness, she
has 134 participants read scenarios that had profanity specifically pertaining to a
gender and ethnicity being used. The participants rated how offensive each
scenario was and how often profanity was used. The purpose of this was to
understand how profanity was linked to gender and ethnicity as well as its impact
on people. This study was significant because it showed that some words were

rated more offensive when said by one ethnicity than another.

Key Words and Passages:
o profane
o language
o ethnicity
o gender
o rating
o Many factors affect what is considered profane language and the relative
offensiveness of different profane words. Perceived offensiveness is affected by
mere exposure to profanity (Kaye & Sapolsky, 2004), the profanity spoken (Jay,
2009), the gender (Selnow, 1985) and ethnicity of the speaker and perceiver
(Popp, Donovan, Crawford, Marsh, & Peele, 2003), as well as the context in
which profanities are spoken (Johnson & Lewis, 2010).
o There has been a general increase in the use of profanities spoken in both public
and private settings. Words that would have been censored by the media twentyyears ago are now commonplace.

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o Although the seven dirty words have historically been banned from broadcast,
these specific curse words are heard approximately once every three hours in
prime-time television, with the word fuck being heard most often (Kaye &
Sapolsky, 2004). Excretory words/body parts, such as ass and butt are also used
with great frequency in the media, and are second to only the most mild of taboo
words (e.g., hell, damn; Kaye & Sapolsky, 2004). Other taboo words that are
considered to be even more offensive (e.g., nigger, cunt, cocksucker) are used less

frequently in public and have remained highly offensive (Jay, 2009).

Uses and Limits:
o U: This study captures very important perspectives of thousands of Americans. It
covers the taboo things that no one talks about.
o U: This study shows the extent people will go to and the hypocrisy in their
statements.
o L: The study only used 134 adults. This is a small pool and cant be used to
represent an entire country.
o L: The study was conducted at one point in time. Most likely peoples views have
changed since the time the study was conducted.
o This text was very helpful in understanding two sides to a scenario but
unfortunately it is unable to cover several areas and their opinions.

Jay, Timothy, and Kristin Janschewitz. "The Science of Swearing." Association for
Psychological Science RSS. Association for Psychological Science, n.d. Web. 25 Apr.
2016.

Rhetorical Precis:
o In Timothy Jays and Kristin Janschewitzs article The Science of Swearing
they clarify some frequently asked questions that have been asked of the two
psychological scientists. Their article is very detailed and very easy to follow.

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They present questions and explain the answer as well as what their work has
done to further their understanding of the subject. The audience for this article
seems to be other psychological scientists. The significance of this article is in its
clarification and elaboration of frequent questions. It takes very straightforward,

common questions and explains what is complicated about their answers.

Key Words and Passages:
o swearing
o communication
o speech
o language
o offensive
o Considering the persistent need for an expert to consult for the above issues, it is
odd that swearing expertise is weighted so differently when swearing is viewed
from the perspective of psychological science. While hundreds of papers have
been written about swearing since the early 1900s, they tend to originate from
fields outside of psychology such as sociology, linguistics, and anthropology.
When swearing is a part of psychological research, it is rarely an end in itself.
o Our forthcoming research also indicates that the most frequently recorded taboo
words have remained fairly stable over the past 30 years. The Anglo-Saxon words
we say are hundreds of years old, and most of the historically offensive sexual
references are still at the top of the offensiveness list; they have not been
dislodged by modern slang.
o Swearing can occur with any emotion and yield positive or negative outcomes.
Our work so far suggests that most uses of swear words are not problematic. We
know this because we have recorded over 10,000 episodes of public swearing by

children and adults, and rarely have we witnessed negative consequences.

Uses and Limits:
o U: This article covers some of the most focused angles of profanity and explains
their differences in great detail.

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o U: The article is written under two psychological scientists and so has a much
broader understanding of the subject.
o L: The article only explains the questions presented. There is a lot that was not
discussed.
o L: It only discusses profanity in English and not in other languages or cultures.
o This text was a good overview for a first look into profanity and the things it
affects. It fails to go into extreme depth but it glosses over a few topics very well.
This is a very good introduction text which can be used to base more research off
of.
Jay, Timothy. Why We Curse: A Neuro-Psycho-Social Theory of Speech. Philadelphia, PA,
USA: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1999. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 20 April
2016.

Rhetorical Precis:
o In Timothy Jays Why We Curse he explains in detail the many strings attached
to profanity and its uses. Timothy Jay is a psychological scientist specializing in
language. In his book, Why We Curse he spreads knowledge on how swearing
came to be and how it has changed over the years. The audience of this book is
anyone who is interested in the subject. The significance of this book is in the
depth of his analysis. He explains everything from cultural influences on profanity

to religion and how its impact has changed society.

Key Words and Passages:
o profanity
o blasphemy
o society
o communication
o taboo

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o Another means of teaching people that religious words are taboo is through the
process of censorship. Words have to be sacred, powerful, or dangerous to be
censored by religions. (page 190)
o Ethnic humor and ethnic insulting exist in all multiethnic societies. (page 187)
o Obscene sexual jokes are not meant to shock listeners about sexuality. Obscene

jokes function to confront the status quo, that is, our fear of sexuality. (page 182)
Uses and Limits:
o U: This can be used to show just how many things affect language, specifically
profanity.
o U: This can also be used to show how many factors are a part of profanity when it
is used. From who is saying what and who it is being said to and when it is being
said.
o L: This only really discusses verbal language. It doesnt express body language
and how it has an impact on profanity.
o L: It doesnt show examples from other cultures. It is just English.
o This text was helpful in understanding that there are many different forms of
profanity and even more possibilities regarding how they are said.

Psych Central News Editor. "Children Are Swearing More Often, At Earlier Age." Psych Central
News. Psych Central, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Rhetorical Precis:
o In Children Are Swearing More Often, At Earlier Age by a Psych Central News
Editor, Timothy Jays work on swearing is summarized. The article takes the main
points of some of Jays work and discusses its significance. The audience of this
article seems to be more towards the public, as it uses simpler vocabulary and is
put in more understandable terms. The significance of this article is that it takes
something very complicated and simplifies it to a point where anyone can read it
and understand what is happening.

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Key Words and Passages:

o swearing
o communication
o profanity
o society
o children
o Children do not appear to be yet using worse swear words than in the past just
common swear words more often, according to the new research.
o Previous research into swearing has shown it has a significant impact with
problems at home, in school, and at the workplace.
o Jay suggests the rise in profanity among children is not surprising, given the

general rise of the use of swearing among adults during the same time period.
Uses and Limits:
o U: This article can be used to explain Timothy Jays research in simpler terms.
o U: This article focuses on the effects of swearing on kids. It can be used to
distinguish between harmful and non-harmful situations regarding language
around kids.
o L: It is a very short article and it only provides insight on a specific topic.
o L: It is a summary of someone elses findings. There is no original content here.
o The text was very helpful for understanding swearing and its effect on kids as
they develop. Even though it is limited to only one persons studies, it still
provides a deep analysis of the one topic.

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