“Weapons effect” revisited: Motor effects of the reception of aversive stimulation and exposure to pictures of firearms

Abstract

The effect of presenting images of firearms on the speed of clenching of the fist of human subjects simultaneously receiving an aversive stimulation was studied. It was thought that, whereas the classic interpersonal experimental situation confounds the effects of the stimulus presented and several interpersonal processes, speed of fist clenching in a noninterpersonal setting could constitute a valid measure of the subject's readiness to fight. liventyfour male and 24 female students (ages > 20 and <36 years) were instructed to press with their right hand a device commanding the projection of slides upon reception of an acoustic signal. Speed of clenching of the hand was recorded in the four conditions generated by the combination of two levels of acoustic signal (aversive and nonaversive) and two modalities of slides (firearms or tools). The results show that the reception of aversive sound accelerates fist clenching. Simultaneous presentation of slides of firearms and reception of aversive noise increases the speed of clenching of the fist. The slides' main effect was not significant. More irritable subjects tend to execute this movement faster than their less irritable counterparts, and more emotionally susceptible subjects tend to be slower than less susceptible ones. Male subjects were faster than females. This pattern of results is discussed in relation to the hypothesis formulated by the authors.

Using video games to understand sex differences in attentional biases for weapons

“…These findings suggest that, as well as men tending to exhibit stronger spontaneous attention biases for weapons [ 9 ] especially when depicted wielded [ 14 ], these biases may also be more responsive to violent contexts in men than they are in women. This would be consistent with prior observations that men may be more prone to the weapons effect than are women [ 46 ], see also [ 49 ]. Importantly, though, the detectable effects of the violent game were modest.…”

Effects of Weapons on Aggressive Thoughts, Angry Feelings, Hostile Appraisals, and Aggressive Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Weapons Effect Literature

“…Hostile appraisals are measured in several different ways. For example, some studies have measured primary or automatic appraisals by speed of fist clenching (e.g., da Gloria, Duda, Pahlavan, & Bonnet, 1989) and by speed of identification of weapons versus neutral objects (e.g., De Oca & Black, 2013; Sulikowski & Burke, 2014). Other studies have measured secondary or controlled reappraisal by having participants indicate how disagreeable, hostile, and angry they thought a target person was (e.g., Epstein, 1980; Holbrook et al, 2014).…”

“…Like Berkowitz and LePage (1967), several researchers used electric shocks to provoke participants (e.g., Berkowitz & LePage, 1967; Frodi, 1975; Turner & Simons, 1974). Other researchers have used other unpleasant stimuli to provoke participants, such as noise blasts (e.g., Bartholow, Anderson, Carnagey, & Benjamin, 2005; da Gloria et al, 1989) or personal insults (e.g., Caprara, Renzi, Amolini, D’Imperio, & Travaglia, 1984).…”

“…Most weapons effect experiments included only male participants (e.g., Berkowitz & LePage, 1967; Buss, Booker, & Buss, 1972; Klinesmith et al, 2006; Turner & Simons, 1974). However, a number of other experiments included both male and female participants (e.g., Caprara et al, 1984; da Gloria et al, 1989; Lindsay & Anderson, 2000), and one experiment included only female participants (Gallina & Fass, 2014). Because males are typically more physically aggressive and more likely to use weapons than females, weapons might have greater effects on males than on females (Caprara et al, 1984).…”

Re‐emerging conceptual integration: commentary on Berkowitz's “On the Consideration of Automatic as well as Controlled Psychological Processes in Aggression”

“…The same suggestion could be made about the so-called ''Weapons' effect'', specifically in relation to the example of a ''hunting rifle'' introduced by Berkowitz. Regarding this specific point, there are some empirical data against the explanatory strength of the original proposition [e.g., Buss et al, 1972;Da Gloria et al, 1989Page and Scheidt, 1971; also see Sabini's [1992] discussion about Carlson et al's [1990] metaanalysis].…”