“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.

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).…”

Evidence for a motor mechanism of pain-induced aggression instigation in humans

“…Eliciting these reactions by different kinds of aversive treatments, several authors [Hanner and Brown, 1955;Kelly and Hake, 1970;McDonough, 1960;Roehl, 19591 have failed to generate definitive results. Da Gloria et al [ 1989;19901 reported that voluntary contraction of the dominant right hand of human subjects was speeded up when individuals received an aversive stimulation as a signal to execute the movement, or were exposed to slides related to aggression before its execution. These authors suggested that the reception of aversive stimulation is followed by a parallel processing of sensory input at a variety of levels.…”

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].…”