[lit-ideas] Didn't I tell you so?

Study links guns and hormones in men
GALESBURG, Ill., May 9 (UPI) -- U.S. psychologists say they've found that 
handling a gun creates a hormonal reaction in men that can prime them for 
aggression.

Psychologists at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., enrolled 30 male students in 
what was presented as a taste study, The New York Times reported. The 
researchers took saliva samples from the students and measured testosterone 
levels.

The students were seated, 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 again measured testosterone levels and 
discovered high levels in men who had had handled the gun, with levels 
remaining steady in those working with the board game.

The students were then asked to taste a cup of water with a drop of hot sauce 
in it and prepare a similar drink for the next person in the experiment, adding 
as much hot sauce as they liked.

The psychologists said those handling the gun put in about three times as much 
hot sauce as the others.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

Other related posts: