Beyond bad: early ERP correlates of written swearword processing

The aim of the study was to analyse brain responses to offensive words and compare them with non-vulgar negative words. We hypothesised differences in ERP amplitudes within the first 200 ms after the word’s onset and late modulation related to the processing of vulgar words. Twenty-five volunteers viewed briefly presented (500 ms) sets (each <i>n</i> = 20) of vulgar, negative, and neutral adjectives. Four time windows were analysed, corresponding to the N1 (80–120 ms), the P150 (130–180 ms), the N400 (350–450 ms), and the late positive potential (LPP, 500–700 ms) components of the ERP. There were no differences noted on the earliest component. There was a significant result on the P150 with the highest amplitudes evoked to negative adjectives and the lowest amplitudes evoked to the vulgar adjectives. The effect indicates less demanding attentional engagement for offensive language during the first lexico-semantic analysis stage. There was also LPP modulation with the highest amplitudes evoked in response to the vulgar words. Swearwords seem to be a special category marked early and late in visual processing, based not on valence or arousal attributes, but rather on social taboo defiance, which does not necessitate heightened levels of attentional capture, but engages more elaborate semantic re-analysis.