Let us begin by stating that this article is not intended to start up a fiery debate between the pro and anti-gun camps. Our aim is to share a brief outline of a recent study into the so-called ‘gun bias’ with our readers. Comments are, of course, welcome but keep it civil people.

Unintentional shootings of unarmed people sometimes occur because the person wielding a gun instinctively (and incorrectly) assumed that others bear arms too. A team of researchers from Colorado State University conducted an experiment to uncover this aforementioned gun bias.'

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Around 2012, Jessica Witt, a psychology professor, fiddled with the thought of whether the act of carrying a gun could create an inclination in the wielder's mind that others do as well. She also wanted to know if this potential could be measured through a scientific framework. In collaboration with her team, Jessica found out the answer is yes after evaluating a series of research outcomes.

In the Journal Cognitive Research: Principle and Implications, the team has a publication titled the 'gun embodiment effect". The foundation of their work is based on a similar study published back in 2012. The 2012 survey had a relatively small sample size making it less viable to draw conclusions from. The team had, therefore, replicated the experiment with larger sample sizes. It turns out that the outcome remains the same, fueling the standpoint that gun bias is a real thing and that it is measurable in a controlled environment. The research team also suggests that this attribute is independent of race, social class, or personality, making it a universal phenomenon.

Witt, in an interview regarding the outcome of her team's experiment, showed confidence in the output of their work without ruling out the possibility of error. "To prove that something is universal, you have to rule out all possible alternatives. We have not done that yet". Nonetheless, she proclaims that they have put out some really good first steps.

For the experimenting, the team recruited 200 CSU students. Volunteers, wielding a gun or a spatula were hinged on a system that could track their movement. The system measured their reaction (speed and accuracy) to people holding either a gun or a shoe.

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The researchers observed that holding a firearm affects participants' level of accuracy. The chance that they erroneously perceive unarmed people as armed is shown to be larger than one percent, meaning that the impact of wielding a gun in the controlled experiment showed only a marginal threat. With that said, it is essential to note that on a national scale, this marginal threat becomes a real problem. Especially since so many people carry arms in the United States. To illustrate this point, Witt explained that if 100 gun-wielding policemen encountered unarmed people for a period of 100 days, the data implies that, on average, at least 1000 unarmed people would have been erroneously perceived as gun wielders in the resulting 100.000 interactions.

Evaluation of the replica conundrum

There is a widespread problem with study replication in the field of psychology. In a bid to strengthen her team's position on the subtleness of the gun embodiment effect, Witt said her new study served as a replica check and a revision to narrow down the potential of error in their earlier claim.

The team is not stopping at their investigation of the "gun embodiment effect." The plan is to further enhance their study with additional circumstantial variables. It would be interesting to know whether specific scenarios can alter the view of someone who is carrying a firearm since their experiment shows that personality traits are generally inconsequential. The team would like to know if mood, tiredness, or apprehension pose any change in behavioral inclination, for example.

If you're interested in the nitty-gritty of the Colorado research, be sure to check out the paper published in the science journal: Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, listed below.

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