Sh*t You Won’t Forget: The Link Between Profanity, Recall, Visual Attention and Emotions in Video Lectures

Profane language is increasingly accepted across cultures but remains generally unaccepted in formal settings like classrooms. However, students exposed to profanity in lectures may retain concepts better due to its attention-grabbing and surprise effect. Despite its strong emotional and cognitive impact, profanity’s role in educational video lectures remains underexplored. This study examines how varying profanity levels in lecture content influence content retention, visual attention, and emotional engagement. Grounded in Neuro-Psycho-Social Theory, Expectancy Violations Theory, Dual-Coding Theory, and the Eye-Mind Hypothesis, we propose relationships between profanity, recall, and cognitive-emotional processing. Using a within-subject experimental design with balanced randomization, we propose a study where participants will view lectures with different profanity levels while biometric (eye tracking, facial expressions, GSR) and recall questionnaire data are collected. Study findings will inform instructional design and pedagogy, challenging traditional norms and broadening our understanding of language’s role in cognitive processing and engagement in education.