Guns Raise Male Testosterone Levels, Aggression

[ID_shooting]

Just read this on Fox. Not very conclusive as I imagine the same affect can be atributed to Harleys and Corvettes...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206156,00.html

By Daniel J. DeNoon

Handling a gun makes men's testosterone levels rise -- and makes them more aggressive.

The finding comes from a study by psychology student Jennifer Klinesmith and her professors at Knox College, Galesburg, Ill. Klinesmith designed the study, in which 18- to 22-year-old college men participated.

Klinesmith told the men they'd be taking part in a study of the effect of attention to detail on taste sensitivity. She collected a saliva sample for testosterone testing. Then she led each man into a room where he sat at a table with an object on it. The man had to take apart the object and put it back together according to instructions.

For half the men, the object was a pellet gun that mimicked a Desert Eagle automatic handgun. The other half of the men worked with a child's game called Mouse Trap.

Fifteen minutes later, the men gave another saliva sample. Then they were asked to taste a lidded 3-ounce cup of water with a drop of Frank's Red Hot Sauce in it.

Hot-Sauce Trick

Finally, the men were given a 3-ounce cup of water and a bottle of the hot sauce. They were told the water would be given to the next man in the study, and that they could -- anonymously -- put as much hot sauce in the water as they liked.

This hot-sauce trick has been used before. The more aggressive a man is feeling, the more hot sauce he tends to put in the next guy's drink.

Sure enough, testosterone went up about 100 times more in the men who handled the gun than in the men who handled the children's toy. And the gun handlers put three times more hot sauce in the water -- on average, about a half ounce -- than the toy handlers.

The more a man's testosterone went up after gun handling, the more hot sauce he put in the water.

"Such findings raise many of the usual questions about whether the presence of guns in modern society contributes to violent behavior," Klinesmith and colleagues conclude. "Although our study is clearly far from definitive, its results suggest that guns may indeed increase aggressiveness partially via changes in the hormone testosterone."

Indeed, after debriefing, many of the men said they were disappointed that the water they'd spiked with hot sauce wasn't really going to be given to another unsuspecting man.

The study appears in the July issue of Psychological Science.

By Daniel J. DeNoon, reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

SOURCES: Klinesmith, J. Psychological Science, July 2006; vol 17 pp 568-571.

 

[HighVelocity]

I think they got it backwards. That should've been Ed's Red they put in the water and it's likely that playing with the kids toy actually LOWERED testosterone levels.

 

[sacp81170a]

I wonder what would have happened had they tested levels of testosterone in men after driving around the block in a Yugo vs. driving around the block in a Corvette? Or using power tools vs. quilting or doing macrame? Obviously we need to ban power tools and fast cars. It's for the children.

Edited to add: And who said that increased testosterone levels are a bad thing? Thank God that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have higher testosterone levels when they're in combat (females included). It'll surely help 'em survive better than being lotus-eaters.

 

[JesseJames]

You know, some scientific studies just make you think that these scientists don't have any sense at all.
Of course handling weapons is going to get a man's engine running.
It's a primal instinct.
The big question is, how is a particular man going to deal with his aggressions? Drink? Beat his wife? Go to the batting cage and clobber a few? What do they expect him to do knit and crochet???

 

[Phenom]

Sniff Sniff, What's that I smell??? Oh yeah, it's BS I smell
Any time I'm highly stressed shootng helps calm me down.

 

[riverdog]

I wonder if that would work for those of us over 50? I may have to go shoting this afternoon

 

[Action_Can_Do]

Sigh...Some people will look anywhere to find a reason for the violence in society. The truth is the reason is far more complicated then anyone would care to admit. Some people want to blame religion, Democrats, or lack of religion. And some people like to go back to the hormone thing. Most people want to completely ignore the idea of personal responsibility. Someone who picks up a gun ( Harley,Corvette,Chainsaw,Star Trek Original Series DVD Collection, ect) and thinks it frees them to behave anyway they want doesn't deserve it. They may also belong in jail.

 

[Silver Bullet]

Handling a gun makes men's testosterone levels rise -- and makes them more aggressive.

It almost sounds like they're saying that's a bad thing.

 

[progunner1957]

God forbid that MEN should have high testosterone levels! Testosterone is only for women and politicians in America today!

 

[Justin]

So evidently we can all assume that Floyd Landis is a shooter.

 

[jrou111]

Guns Raise Male Testosterone Levels

So does sexual intercourse.

Big deal.

Testosterone and Aggression are not proportional.

Someone is lying

 

[wally]

Useless study that extrapolated the "gun" effect way beyond what might be supported by the data.

Group A vs. group B will show increased testosterone for:

Being in a room with sexy vs. ugly women.
Driving a Porche vs.a Yugo.
Watching boxing vs. watching an opera.

There is practically no end to these gender sterotype A/B comparrisons you can set up and show "increased testosterone". The feminazis want to deny the reality of these differences in the species and instead attribute the effect to the object instead of the inconvienent (to them) maleness and femaleness of humanity.

Not to mention the effects of testosterone are so complex and dependent on its interaction with a host of other hormone levels that its pretty ludicris to say because testosterone transiently increased something specific will happen.

We must have a lot of testosterone here in Texas as any newcommer quickly gets fed a Jalepeno at the first opportunity.

Had a fantastic Habenero marinated ham at a party last night, few of the women would touch it I embarased myself by going back for more so often.

--wally.

 

[carl418]

I just finished reading the thread 'When will Illinois be normal', so I'm not surprised to see that this study was conducted in Illinois...

 

[Iggy]

I'm so glad my tax dollars are going to the consumption of water and hot sauce!!!:banghead:

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

The only thing I can conclude from this study is that guns are more entertaining and interesting than Mouse Trap. My sister had that game when she was younger and I don't need a study to tell me that!

 

[Cesiumsponge]

Speaking in general terms and stereotypes/majority...

Lets ban guns, girls, cars, motorcycles, competition games, and action movies too since it raises our aggression level. We should be as idealistic and docile creatures...cancel out all inhibitions of aggression so we won't be inclined to climb up in the world and make something of ourselves financially, socially, or in the courting arena.

Lets ban everything that defines the stereotypical male, the very characteristics, tendancies, and behaviors that have helped us procreate and excel since whenever you believe we first spread the human race. I guess that'll give us the very qualities that make us attractive to the opposite sex. Aggression, competitiveness, and even rebelism were never qualities that appealed to most women.

Put away the leather jackets and bring out the pastel swatches; today's ideal man is a spinless metrosexual chap.

 

[sacp81170a]

guns, girls, cars, motorcycles, competition games, and action movies too since it raises our aggression level.

LOL! "Conan, what is best in life?"

"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women..."

Alternative answer: "Guns, girls, cars, motorcycles, competition games, and action movies."

I can see it now...

 

[longeyes]

Studies like that make ME aggressive. I know that.

So this is what "college" has come to, women getting degrees for discovering that men are such brutes?

 

[pcf]

This passes for a scientific study?

 

[MachIVshooter]

Yes, putting hot sauce in water is definitely aggressive behavior. Don't ya know, I do it whenever I'm aggrivated.

This is about the most half-assed, back-woods B.S. phsyc "study" I've ever heard of. "A sophisticated mechanical device is more arousing to young adult males than a unisex game designed for 5 year old children". What an epiphony. If she puts this one on her resume, she'll be laughed out of the interview.

 

[longeyes]

Don't worry, it's only costing $30K a year for Jennifer to get this out of her system before reality bites and some cad finds her marriageable.

 

[sacp81170a]

This passes for a scientific study?

Yep. It all depends on your interpretation. Good science can confirm or refute facts that we accept by subjecting them to unbiased experiment. In this case, it confirms that certain stimuli result, on average, in different hormonal responses in men. Sounds like common sense, since coaches have been giving pep talks to their teams and generals have been doing the same to their armies since, oh, I don't know, the caveman days.

I'd like to see a study done on how controlled aggression is best achieved and the benefits it confers in different competitive situations. Take, for instance, Floyd Landis' elevated testosterone levels after he kicked butt on stage 17 in the Tour. Shouldn't it have been obvious that he willed himself to win? Same with winning and losing teams. Test the levels of the winning and losing teams in a college football game and I'll bet you'd find a difference. Duh.

Embracing studies like this and hailing them as a reason to have men handle guns as a path to success in a competitive market place would blow the hoplophobes' little minds. I'd *love* to see a similar study done with women as the subjects. What results would you expect to see, pax?

(I'm writing this as I listen to "Moon Child" by Rory Gallagher. Lots of testosterone in bluesy rock and roll guitar, doncha know. )

 

[Otherguy Overby]

Testosterone...

What gets my testosterone levels up is watching lying liberals, politicians and others with an agenda on TV news.

I would dearly love to wrap my hands around Alan Colmes scrawny little turkey neck and squeeze 'till his eyeballs popped out... I'd then go into a testosterone nod and have to snooze for an hour or two. I'd wake up refreshed.

 

[Sylvan-Forge]

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[longeyes]

Yep. It all depends on your interpretation. Good science can confirm or refute facts that we accept by subjecting them to unbiased experiment. In this case, it confirms that certain stimuli result, on average, in different hormonal responses in men. Sounds like common sense, since coaches have been giving pep talks to their teams and generals have been doing the same to their armies since, oh, I don't know, the caveman days.

This "scientific study" was ONLY done to "prove" the suspicion lurking in the hearts of too many women and MINOs (men in name only) that Aggression Is Bad Bad Bad I Tell You BADDDDD!

You don't really think that the social science departments in American universities exist for dispassionate experiment, I hope? This is propaganda, not so pure & mighty simplistic.