Citation

Gallina MF, Fass W. Violence Gend. 2014; 1(4): 165-169.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/vio.2014.0020

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The weapons effect (i.e., the phenomenon in which weapons elicit aggressive thoughts or behaviors) has been previously studied with male participants. However, we attempted to replicate the weapons effect with female participants. A total of 107 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three image priming conditions. Participants were primed with images of assault guns, hunting guns, or brooms, and then responded to questions relating to aggressive behaviors. The results indicated that the weapons effect can be produced in female participants. Specifically, participants in the hunting gun condition reported more aggression than participants in the control condition. The replication of the weapons effect in females produced by this study may indicate that this effect is gender neutral. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Language: en