Posted on 03/05/2005 5:48:53 AM PST by Pharmboy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - How long a man's second finger is relative to his fourth finger appears to predict whether he is prone to be physically aggressive toward others, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
But it's not finger length that causes aggression, study author Allison A. Bailey warned in an interview.
She explained that the important factor is the male hormone testosterone. Fetuses are exposed to various levels of this hormone in the womb, and research shows that men who were exposed to higher levels tend to have shorter second fingers, relative to their fourth fingers. "More testosterone, relatively longer ring finger," co-author Dr. Peter L. Hurd told Reuters Health.
Men with shorter second fingers were probably exposed to more testosterone in the womb, and this may cause them to be more prone to physical aggression later in life, Bailey explained. "More testosterone in the womb predicts more physical aggression in men," she told Reuters Health.
Alternatively, both testosterone exposure and finger length may be influenced by a "deeper third variable," Hurd noted. Regardless, the study shows that "events in the womb can have subtle effects on children's personality," Hurd added.
This is not the first study to link the ratio between a man's second and fourth fingers to his personality, Bailey noted. Previous reports have found that men with smaller ratios - meaning, their second finger is much smaller than their fourth - tend to do better in sports, and are perceived as more dominant and masculine by women.
However, other research has shown that men with smaller second-to-fourth finger ratios are at higher risk of autism and immune deficiency.
To investigate how finger ratios match up with physical aggression, Bailey and Hurd measured the finger ratios in 298 psychology students, and asked them to complete a questionnaire measuring aggression.
The questionnaire measured four types of aggression, Bailey noted: physical ("if someone hits me, I hit back"), anger ("I flare up quickly"), hostility ("I am often eaten up by jealousy"), and verbal ("I tell my friends when I disagree with them").
The researchers found that shorter second-to-fourth finger ratios predicted proneness to physical aggression, but not other types of aggression, and only in men, not in women.
In general, men had smaller finger ratios than women, the authors report in the journal Biological Psychology.
Bailey cautioned that these findings only link a shorter finger ratio to a tendency toward physical aggression, and do not show that men with shorter ratios are actually more aggressive. "Somebody might never have acted on anything," she said.
Moreover, behavior is influenced by many other factors, Bailey added. Finger ratios are "just one piece of the puzzle," she said.
SOURCE: Biological Psychology, March 2005.
Every guy out in Freeperland is now looking at their hands.
And all this time I just thought is was an indicator of how long one's slong was.
So, basically, the article is stating that men with shorter second fingers are pansies!
Well, I assume you ALWAYS did that...
That is one LONG 4th finger...
Brooklyn area?
I'll check, but I think it was sold. ;)
Yep, and none of the women are. Objective achieved.
I'm so glad we don't have to see him pointing it at us for 4 years.
I can't believe no one is calling finger #2 the TRIGGER finger!
Jeez...y'all need a whack upside your head!
ROFLMAO!!!!
You gotta be from Clevland!!!
"The first, the thumb, pollex, is so called because it surpasses, pollere, the others in strength and power.
"The second finger, index, is also known as salutaris or demonstratorius, the greeting or indicating finger, because we generally use it in greeting, showing or pointing.
"The third finger is called impudicus, lewd; it is frequently used to express the pursuit of something shameful.
"The fourth is the ring finger, anularis, because it is the on which a ring is worn.
"The fifth finger is called auricularis, because we scrape our ear, auris, with it."
Looks like a picture of my proctologist.
Technically the THUMB is not a finger. So Mr Pointer is the FIRST finger; The Bird is the SECOND finger; The Ringie is the THIRD finger; and the Pinkie is the FOURTH.
If you have a short Bird Finger you are a "submissive".
What?
There is another important part?
Hey Ma? ... Dad? ...
OTOH, if it's headed towards Ottowa, we'll have plenty of time to get permission, and negotiate a price...
Reading your post and seeing Lazamataz's reply, gave me an indication of great entertainment ahead.
After taking care of a few chores, I come back to find it has more than lived up to my original assessment.
Well done! ;)
Well, for some reason, the science folk started the numbering at the other end. But, thanks for your post...very interesting.
Let one of their cities get hit, and they won't be waffling about permission--they'll be too busy begging for help.
Change HMOs...
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