Made up gun study
Handling a gun stirs a hormonal reaction in men that primes them for aggression, new research suggests.
Psychologists at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., enrolled 30 male students in what they described as a taste study. The researchers took saliva samples from the students and measured testosterone levels.
They then seated the young men, one at a time, at a table in a bare room; on the table were pieces of paper and either the board game Mouse Trap or a large handgun.
Their instructions: take apart the game or the gun and write directions for assembly and disassembly.
Fifteen minutes later, the psychologists measured saliva testosterone again and found that the levels had spiked in men who had handled the gun but had stayed steady in those working with the board game.
First, I do not buy that testosterone = aggression. Second, a gun v. the game Mousetrap? Gimme a break. For a real test, do a gun v. a power tool. I’d say the power tool would probably trigger more manly thoughts than a gun and, therefore, more evil testosterone.
May 10th, 2006 at 1:20 am
No, handling the gun caused them to begin to grow a pair. What they were measuring was a return to manliness, not the beginnings of agression.
May 10th, 2006 at 8:37 am
A board game? Are they fucking kidding me?
May 10th, 2006 at 9:51 am
This is actually a very useful study. When someone references it to make an anti-gun argument, they can be ignored based on their use of junk science. So it is sort of a Godwin’s Law for gun discussions. The one who uses it loses automatically.
May 10th, 2006 at 10:14 am
The entire title of the research paper includes “A Test of a Mediational Model.” Since I can’t get a copy of the article to read and have to go by the NYT and blog articles, I suppose this article may not be junk science after all, but rather that the NYT has (surprise) misrepresented the intent and the findings of the experiments.
To recap: Using this article as an anti-gun argument is wrong, in several ways. The article apparently tests the action of putting hot sauce in a drink against testosterone levels. That guns were involved may be an experimental artifact, or a known way to raise testosterone levels. Further explanations require the actual article, which has not yet been published. I will ask the authors for a preprint and let you know….
May 10th, 2006 at 10:55 am
So THAT’S why I like Mexican food!
May 10th, 2006 at 11:43 am
I’m reminded of reading about a study years ago where subjects were told to play a game where options included international diplomacy, war, etc. The researchers were supposedly astonished and quite dismayed when a large proportion of the subjects readily chose a nuclear war option. It was a freaking game, why wouldn’t you nuke someone when nobody’s getting hurt? Sheesh.