Very intresting test, is that a gun or a cell phone?

Game Over
Your Score: 500
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:712.92ms
Black Unarmed:835.16ms
White Armed:754.8ms
White Unarmed:719.96ms

According to this, I have a bias (by milliseconds) against African American men. But then I took it a second time, and this time, I knew that people would be bouncing all over the pages and I had an idea of what the objects looked like. Big difference - now they're about even:

Game Over
Your Score: 565
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:654.32ms
Black Unarmed:752.4ms
White Armed:663.2ms
White Unarmed:749.8ms

Frankly, they cheated, IMHO, by telling me I was "too slow" several times. What does that mean - I'm actually looking for the object, instead of basing my judgment on color? I got this a lot with another test, the one where you're supposed to associate harmless or harmful objects and black or white faces. "Too slow"?! Is it "too slow" to not shoot when I'm not sure? That would, to me, indicate a lack of bias, but I guess they don't count it because it doesn't fit their preconceptions.

What I also have an issue with is the shooting of completely innocent-looking targets. I'm going to hesitate to shoot a kneeling businessman. But it told me I took "too long". Why am I being asked to shoot people who aren't actively pointing guns at me and have innocuous expressions on their faces?

Clothes, too. A disproportionate number of the black men had oversized clothing. At least two had oversized white T shirts, which can (in some areas) be an indicator of gang activity, or at least affiliation with thug culture (even if only via popular music, culture, etc.).

In short, it's rather flawed.

I'd be curious to see this test in several forms:
a) High contrast object/background and low contrast object/background (a HUGE issue with this test)
b) All business/professional clothing and all casual/baggy clothing
c) Female characters

Torpid kept it holstered throughout and received a score of -1750.

Click to expand...

The test is flawed. It assumes an armed person not posing a threat with no prior confrontation backround deserves to be shot.

Click to expand...

Hear, hear.

As a side note, Harvard has a bunch of "Implicit Association" tests up. They tend to have similar flaws. Not the least of which is confusion! It took me several tests to actually get the format of the thing down, and then there were a variety of problems inherent within the test.

I took the Weapons/Harmless Objects association test, but they made a fatal flaw. They assumed that I would associate a weapon with Eeevil.

Try it this way:

See how fast you can shoot all the white people! I waited a few seconds before holstering for the African-Americans. Here is the result. I bet nobody can beat my time for the white people!

504.44 For White Armed 500.92 for White Unarmed. Anyone think they're quicker?

Game Over
Your Score: -1470
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:3872.68ms
Black Unarmed:4230.32ms
White Armed:504.44ms
White Unarmed:500.92ms

I'd be careful with this, I wonder if they are recording the results for some kind of study.

Game Over
Your Score: 485
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:450.78ms
Black Unarmed:478.66ms
White Armed:437.34ms
White Unarmed:429.96ms

To be honest, I shot a lot of innocent people. Mostly in the nice peaceful backgrounds. Also, I wasn't shot once. What's that say about my white unarmed numbers?

Yeah, but you shot everybody. I just shot the white dudes.

Game Over
Your Score: 340
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:637.24ms
Black Unarmed:709.12ms
White Armed:630.76ms
White Unarmed:675.4ms

I must be getting slow. I kept fudging the fingers and popped a few guys holding a PDA/cell/soda can.

Game Over
Your Score: 600
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:592.16ms
Black Unarmed:647.44ms
White Armed:605.68ms
White Unarmed:659.12ms

I'm gonna play again!

Game Over
Your Score: -510
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:92.76ms
Black Unarmed:104ms
White Armed:114.84ms
White Unarmed:126.12ms

I shot everyone

it is much easier to differentiate between pulling the trigger of a gun and holstering, than remembering which button on the keyboard to press for which action...

Click to expand...

Yeah, for the first few pics I had it backwards, took a minute to get straightened out...

Game Over
Your Score: -500
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:67.04ms
Black Unarmed:78.44ms
White Armed:28.12ms
White Unarmed:91.8ms

I shot everyone. I hate cell phones.

Game Over
Your Score: 525
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:490.4ms
Black Unarmed:609.4ms
White Armed:533.64ms
White Unarmed:588.2ms


Honestly, it seemed to me that the test was slightly rigged. I think the background should have been kept the same throughout. I think the reason I was slower to holster on some of them and slower to shoot on others was more about not being able to clearly see the persons hands, not the color of his skin. I couldn't even tell you what race half of them were because I was focused solely on hands.


Game Over
Your Score: 550
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:493.56ms
Black Unarmed:583.72ms
White Armed:495.4ms
White Unarmed:590.32ms

Second time around the score wasn't much better. Reaction times were much closer between races. I learned to tune out the back ground.

i got board, so i restarted and just shot them all, crashed the game at -240.


.

Game Over
Your Score: 420
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:651.88ms
Black Unarmed:762.2ms
White Armed:667.96ms
White Unarmed:783.16ms

Game Over
Your Score: 525
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:698.28ms
Black Unarmed:779.12ms
White Armed:667.88ms
White Unarmed:783.36ms

Game Over
Your Score: 450
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:634.48ms
Black Unarmed:840.72ms
White Armed:649.16ms
White Unarmed:644.44ms

I know I shot good guys of both races, and both sets of bad guys got me. Of course, none of them were actually pointing their guns at me...

First round:

Game Over
Your Score: 465
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:695.32ms
Black Unarmed:720.72ms
White Armed:653.8ms
White Unarmed:710.72ms

And the second time, now knowing how this little game works. (noticed that they get you going 5, 6, maybe even 8 or 9 times in a row on armed or unarmed and then switch it, screwing with your muscle memory and coordination)

Game Over
Your Score: 750
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:586.28ms
Black Unarmed:672.24ms
White Armed:602.44ms
White Unarmed:683.48ms

I think the background, presentation of the weapon/cell phone, size/color of the weapon/cell phone and general orientation of the person have a whole lot more to do with how quickly you can decide that they are or are not armed. I found my eyes moving to identify the object as soon as the person was visible.

As far as controls in the test, it is slightly flawed. Yes, there were 25 each of White/armed, Black/armed, White/unarmed, Black/unarmed. But there are discrepencies in the size of the weapon/non-weapon and it's relation to the body. The images of black men more frequently had larger guns/phones held away from the individual than did the white man images. Obviously, the larger and more removed the object, the faster one can identify it.

If anyone doesn't believe me, just do what I did. Make tally sheets for black and white. Then make two columns, one for armed, one for unarmed. In each of those columns, have boxes for small/closely held, small/held away, large/closely held and large/held away.

Interestingly, when doing this tally, I had a much harder time keeping the races straight than whether the object was large or small, close or far.

Game Over
Your Score: -500
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:98.68ms
Black Unarmed:105.36ms
White Armed:120.76ms
White Unarmed:99.68ms

I just watched TV and clicked 'fire' as fast as I could

Combine this with post 24 when someone did the same with holster every time

Game Over
Your Score: -1750
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:315.12ms
Black Unarmed:284.64ms
White Armed:252.48ms
White Unarmed:316.12ms

Click to expand...

this indicates to me that the test is flawed. Doing it like that all groups should be equal, yet it supposedly showed me that it took me 20 seconds longer to identify a white man as armed.

It is interesting, even by firing blindly, my results still paint me as a racist being faster to shoot a black armed man and slower to realize that an unarmed black man is not a threat.

I wonder if there is some built in fudge factor to re-enforce a preconceived notion, and 'prove' itself (i'd not put something like that beyond brady bunch) or if there are just too many other factors involved like browser speed, if you are running other programs in the background, etc

oops..

Game Over
Your Score: -240
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:940.64ms
Black Unarmed:21222.6ms
White Armed:1083.8ms
White Unarmed:1064.48ms

Game Over
Your Score: 490
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:779.44ms
Black Unarmed:853.04ms
White Armed:766.08ms
White Unarmed:790.64ms

Game Over
Your Score: 550
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:620.4ms
Black Unarmed:686.8ms
White Armed:605ms
White Unarmed:658.48ms


All sorts of bias going on here. White or black, shooting just because they've got a weapon? Weighted score for shooting first?Aside from their generating algorithm (muscle memory, picture contrast) I have a problem with the fact that it scores better (less bad) to simply shoot everyone. I don't like what the test's creators seem to assume about the average CCW's mindset.

Interesting.

Game Over
Your Score: 590
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:738ms
Black Unarmed:848.36ms
White Armed:721.72ms
White Unarmed:809.88ms

I suck at this, but it's better than Whack-A-Mole!

Game Over
Your Score: 595
Average reaction time:
Black Armed:622.16ms
Black Unarmed:764.48ms
White Armed:628.52ms
White Unarmed:695.72ms

My reaction times suck for a 26 year old, particularly considering that I 0wn in 3d shooters. Also, after much time at the range, I have trouble seeing a smiling person holding a gun in a safe direction as a 'shoot' scenario.

Some of them even seemed to be exercising proper trigger discipline!