Can Finger Length and Height be an Indicator of One’s Aggressive Personality?

1. Can Finger Length and Height be an Indicator of One’s Aggressive Personality? By: Nusrat Chowdhury Mentor: Dr. Mohamedeen

2. Introduction • Aggression has been a difficult term to provide one concise definition of because it encompasses many different types of behavior, some of which are not clearly related to each other. • It may appear as appropriate and self-protective or inappropriate and destructive. Aggression can also be directed outward, against others, or inward, against the self. (“Aggression” n.d.).

3. Introduction • Moreover, it has been known for more than a century that the length of the index finger relative to the ring finger differs between men and women. (Finger length predicts Aggression in Men, 2005). • In women, the index and ring finger are roughly equal in length. But in most men, the ring finger is longer (“Finger Length” n.d). This is a result of fetal exposure to testosterone.

4. Introduction (cont.) • More recently however, researchers have found a direct correlation between finger length and the amount of testosterone that a fetus is exposed to in the womb. • The shorter the index finger is in relation to the ring finger, the higher the amount of testosterone the man was exposed to in the womb (Katherine, 2001) .

5. Introduction • Furthermore as this new research shows, the shorter the index finger, the more likely he is to be physically aggressive throughout his life( Bailey et al, 2004).

6. Purpose of Study • Although, they have found a strong relation between the ring finger and aggression, it is still a mystery whether this conclusion implies an individual’s height as well. • Since the previous research has showed correlation between finger length and aggressive personality, it is possible that people’s height can also tell us something about their personality. • Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine if along with finger length, whether one’s height can also be an indicator of his/her aggressive personality.

7. Materials and Methods • The experiment will be conducted in New York City. All participants will be presented with an informed/parental consent form (Figure 1). The participant will be asked to complete an aggression questionnaire (Figure 2). • The aggression questionnaire consists of four subscales: hostility (eight questions), anger (seven questions), verbal aggression (five questions) and physical aggression (nine questions). • The test will use a one (extremely uncharacteristic of me) to five (extremely characteristic of me) Likert scale.

8. Figure: 1High School for Health Professions and Human Services345 East 15th StreetNew York, N.Y 10003Marta Jimenez, Principal INFORMED CONSENT/PARENTAL CONSENT FORM Principal Investigator: Nusrat Chowdhury • Mentor: Dr. H. Mohamedeen • Introduction: • I have been asked to participate in a research study conducted by Nusrat Chowdhury, a student at H.P.H.S. This research entitled “Can finger length and height determine an individual’s aggressive personality?” This experiment is designed to determine weather any correlation exists between individuals’ height, finger length, and their aggressive personality. The participants will complete an aggression questionnaire. The survey is composed questions that will evaluate individuals’ aggressive personality and it will be compared with their height and finger length. This will help the principal investigator to determine whether there are any correlations between a person’s height, finger length and their aggressive personality. • Plan and Procedure: • Parental informed consent forms will be distributed to high school students in grades 9-12 and adults who are over 18. The surveys will be collected at the time of completion and the principal investigator will analyze the results.

9. Parental Consent (cont.) • Risks: • There are no potential risks or discomfort in this procedure. • Potential Benefits: • This research project will help us to understand whether any correlation exist between a person’s height, their finger length and aggressive personality. Previous studies have shown some correlation between finger length and aggressive personality. Thus, if any correlation is found between height and aggressive personality, then it will proved that not only finger length but a person’s height can also predict whether a person is prone to aggression or not. • Confidentiality: • All the surveys will be kept confidential. No personal information such as name, age etc will be seen by anyone other than the principal investigator and mentor. • Voluntary Participation: • It is understood that participation in this study is voluntary. Refusal to participate • will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which anyone is otherwise entitled. Furthermore, anyone may stop participating at any time they choose, without penalty or loss of benefits.

10. Parental Consent (cont.) • Consent to Participate: • I certify that I have read all of the above, asked questions and received answers • concerning areas I did not understand, and have received satisfactory answers to these questions. I willingly give my consent for participation in this research study. (A copy of this consent form will be given to the person signing as the subject or as the subject's authorized representative.) • Participant's name (print) Participant's signature Date • Parents or Guardian's name (print) Parent/Guardian's signature Date

11. Questionnaire Using the 5-point scale shown below, indicate how uncharacteristic or characteristic each of the following statements is in describing you. Place your rating in the box to the right of the statement. Gender: F____ M____ Height: ______________ 1 = extremely uncharacteristic of me 2 = somewhat uncharacteristic of me 3 = neither uncharacteristic nor characteristic of me 4 = somewhat characteristic of me 5 = extremely characteristic of me ___ 1. Some of my friends think I am a hothead (A) ___2. *I am an even-tempered person ___3. I flare up quickly but get over it quickly ___4. I have trouble controlling my temper. ___5. When frustrated, I let my irritation show ___6. I sometimes feel like a powder keg ready to explode ___7. Sometimes I fly off the handle for no good reason ___8. If I have to resort to violence to protect my rights, I will.

12. Questionnaire (Cont.) 8. If I have to resort to violence to protect my rights, I will. (P.A) ___9. I have become so mad that I have broken things. ___10. Once in a while, I can’t control the urge to strike another person. ___11. I have threatened people I know. ___12 Given enough provocation, I may hit another person. ___13. *I can think of no good reason for ever hitting a person. ___14. If somebody hits me, I hit back ___15. There are people who pushed me so far that we came to blows ___16 I get into fights a little more than the average person. 17. When people are especially nice to me, I wonder what they want. (H) ___18. I wonder why sometimes I feel so bitter about things. ___19. I am suspicious of overly friendly strangers. ___20. I am sometimes eaten up with jealousy. ___21. At times I feel I have gotten a raw deal out of life.

13. Questionnaire (cont.) 22.I sometimes feel that people are laughing at me behind my back. ___23. Other people always seem to get the breaks ___24. I know that “friends” talk about me behind my back ___25. I tell my friends openly when I disagree with them. (V.A) 26. I can’t help getting into arguments when people disagree with me. ___27. When people annoy me, I may tell them what I think of them. ___28. I often find myself disagreeing with people. ___29. My friends say that I’m somewhat argumentative.

14. Materials and Methods (cont.) • On the questionnaire the individuals' height will also be recorded. • To determine the length of the finger, participants will also trace both of their hands on a graph paper attached to the questionnaire.

15. Result: Table 1

17. Height and Finger Length (Cont.)

18. Figure 1: Finger Length and Height This comparison showed no significant result or link between a person’s height, and their finger length.

19. Result: Table 2

21. Individual’s Height and Physical Aggression score (cont.)

22. Figure 5: Physical Aggression Score and Height From this graph it can be concluded that no significant correlation existed between one’s height and their aggressive personality.

23. Figure:3 Correlation between index finger and Aggressive personality • However, as previously, acknowledged, that there is a significant relationship between a person’s physical aggression and finger length (Figure 3). • The shorter one’s index finger is, the more aggressive he tends to be.

24. Discussion • From my experiment I have found out that my results correlated with the previous studies that have been conducted before. There was a correlation between men’s index finger and their aggressive personality • The shorter the index finger is, the more physically aggressive a man tend to be. • From this trend it can be assumed that prenatal testosterone has a stronger effect on the trait of physical aggression than do adult testosterone levels. • No correlation was found between a person’s height and their aggressive personality. It is because an individual’s finger length is determined by the exposure of the sex hormone’s while height is not. Therefore, it can be concluded testosterone plays a greater role in determining a man’s masculinity than playing a significant role in determining one’s height.

25. Conclusion • From my experiment it was concluded while finger length can tell us something about ones aggressive personality, height can not. • The shorter an individual’s index finger is the more physically aggressive they tended to be.

26. Reference • Archer J. & Brown K (1988) Human Aggression. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6th Edition • Bailey A.A & Hurd P.L (2004) Finger length ratio (2D:4D) correlates with physical aggression in men but not in women. Biological Psychology (Article in Press) • Buss, A.H., Perry, M., 1992. The aggression questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63, 452–459. • Encyclopedia.com ( n.d) “ Aggression” Retrieved November 9,2005. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-aggressi.html • Katherine S (2001). The Role of Testosterone in Aggression. MJM 6: 32-40 • Lesko, W. A. (1997). Readings in social psychology: General, classic, and contemporary selections. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

27. Reference ( Cont.) • Live Science Human Boilogy Finger length predicts Aggression in Men (2005) http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050203_finger_length.html • Physiological Self Help (n.d) Anger and Aggression. Retrieved on November 10, 2005. http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap7/chap7b.htm#a • Science Update ( n.d). Finger Length. Retrieved on November 11,2005. http://www.sciencenetlinks.org/sci_update.cfm?DocID=260 • Wrong Diagnosis (n.d). “Possible causes of symptom: Aggression” Retrieved on http://wrongdiagnosis.com/sym/aggression.htm • Yahoo Education (n.d). “Aggression” Retrieved on October 25, 2005. Http://education.yahoo.cm/reference /encyclopedia/entry/aggression.

28. Acknowledgements Dr. Mohamedeen The High School for Health Professions and Human Services Dr. Sat The Harlem Children Society Memorial Sloan Kettering Center Participants of the Survey Thank You All!