Listen to this PodcastMore 60-Second Mind
Hey guys, want to look taller? Just pick up a handgun. Because a study finds that men are more often perceived to be big and strong when they hold a gun. The report is in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.
More than 600 subjects looked at photographs of the right hands of four different white males, each holding a different object: A power drill, a handsaw, a caulking gun and a .45 caliber handgun.
They then viewed silhouetted images of six men who varied in height and musculature and were asked to choose which man most closely matched each hand in the photos.
The participants consistently matched the gun toting hand with the taller and stronger male images. The hand holding the caulking gun was matched most often with the smallest and weakest male images.
In a second study the hands held a paintbrush, squirt gun and a kitchen knife. And again male hands holding the most dangerous object, the knife, were judged to go with the largest and strongest physiques. Seems like strength and power is in the eye of the beholder. Who is strongly swayed by weapons.
—Christie Nicholson
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
See what we're tweeting about
15 Comments
Add CommentThis is news? You really didn't think all the american gun nuts wanted guns uber alles for the reasons they claim, did you?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDuhhhhhh?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo one who knows anything about the human mind would be
surprised at this and it doesn't mean anything.
If you had a guy holding flowers and a guy holding a hammer and
a guy holding a book...the guy with the hammer would look bigger..
Where do they find these people.
This isn't about ego enhancement its about a dread response. If you see a hand with a gun what you fear isn't a 14-year old dweeb with a firearm, it's Rambo. The experiment is biased by having only one weapon. It should be five weapons and five physiques. How about a S&W 0.40 cal police pistol, a handgrenade, a hunting knife, a knuckleduster, and a taser. Then lets see if the handgun makes men seem bigger.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFinally, a sensible comment. Threat response is indeed accompanied by alteration of perception; our pupils dilate, we get tunnel vision (effectively we zoom in on the threat), we go deaf to everything else, and so on.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDo this enough times and we associate increased size with increased level of threat. OTOH that may be hardwired into us.
In your example I'd think I'd perceive the hand holding the pistol as largest, followed by the grenade, the knife, knuckleduster, and taser.
Does size matter? Caliber?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd what about a Frenchman holding his «Oui, oui»?
I'd say what's interesting is we all clicked on it to hear the ridiculous story, and at some time in the past registered on this site (i just did).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDid anyone control for race of photographs of the right hands, and silhouetted photographs of the right hands? What was the breakdown of viewer by sex? Was anyone color blind?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBy the way what time of day was it? Did any of the subjects belong to the NRA, or own guns? Did parent of subjects own guns?
Saying Men Who Hold a Gun Appear Taller and Stronger without some preliminary information
a.k.a. Statistics is misleading. What if the subjects were holding a .45 Measuring a mere 5/8ths of an inch thick and weighing just 14 ounces, would the same study results apply?
Be suspicious of any article anywhere that "features" some tiny aspect of a much larger subject. Though it's not stated plainly, the implied message is intended to generate negative reaction. The seeming "objectivity" used is a fake: threat perception is presented "as is" without considering that the "hand holding the gun" is as likely to be that of a defender as that of an aggressor.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNationwide perspective: Since 2000, 39 of 50 states have adopted the "Shall Issue" model for licensing concealed handguns. Over that time, each of those states has shown 500-600% increase in licenses issued, even though licenses and guns are costly, involve full, modernized background checks and mandatory "startup" training by certified trainers and attorneys. Even the alcohol consumption of licensees is restricted (0.02 BAC compared to 0.08 BAC for "DUI" convictions). Crime statistics for this "demographic" are among the lowest ever recorded for ANY demographic.
On top of that: handgun ownership in raw numbers is misleading: most handguns are bought for sporting as well as defensive purposes. A large number of "handgun owners" are members of law enforcement agencies. The REAL minority in all of these stats is the criminals using handguns in commission of crimes. It is THEY whose perception of "the hand holding the gun" needs fixing - and the best way for that to happen is for defenders' hands to be holding their defense handgun.
A famous script on a Colt Peacemaker made in the 19th Century: Be not afraid of any man, no matter what his size. When danger threatens, call on me and I will equalize. - THAT is the true meaning and value of the hand holding a gun. Only neurotics and leftist ideologues say otherwise.
Most male gun owners are trying to make up for having tiny genitalia.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd what do you use to compensate for having a tiny brain?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI won't ask how you obtained your supporting evidence...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe referenced research report compared the man-with-gun response to various construction tools having a pistol-like handle (even power drills can be dangerous!), but women were purposely excluded from the 'experiment' on the lame grounds that men are more likely to own guns (there are certain areas where many women carry guns for protection).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBack to your assertion, would women carrying a gun appear to have larger penises?
Is that where the expression 'to bang someone' comes from?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you BuckSkinMan. Your comment is like a breath of fresh air. I may be a leftist ideologue, but I recognize the truth when I see it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKill or be killed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this