Wife and I both have shorter index fingers. I was surprised to realize my left index is shorter than my right.
But from my little poll here on FF and asking folks at a pub I stopped at yesterday either I know a lot of psychopaths or the article is pure BS. What do you think?
Is your index finger shorter than your ring finger? You might be a PSYCHOPATH, scientists say
- Scientists have revealed an easy way to identify a psychopath in the real world
- People with longer ring finger than index finger more likely to be psychopaths
By WILIAM HUNTER
PUBLISHED: 05:30 EST, 16 January 2024 | UPDATED: 07:23 EST, 16 January 2024
From The Joker to Patrick Bateman, psychopaths have featured in many famous blockbuster hits throughout the years.
Now, scientists have revealed an easy way to identify a psychopath in the real world – and it's all down to their hands.
A study has found that people who have a longer ring finger than index finger are more likely to have psychopathic tendencies.
Researchers from the Centre de Recherche Charles-Le Moyne in Quebec say the findings suggest that psychopathy may be 'biologically rooted'.
Writing in their study, the researchers said: 'While individuals with such behaviors are socially highly problematic and incur issues, such behavior might be biologically rooted and understood as a fast life history strategy.'
The study, published in the
Journal of Psychiatric Research, examined the hands of 80 participants – 44 who had a clinical diagnosis of amphetamine use disorder (AUD), antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) or both, and 36 healthy control subjects.
The researchers took detailed scans of the participants' right hands and put them through several psychological evaluations, including one designed to test for Dark Triad personality types.
Higher scores on these tests indicated that the subject had higher levels of psychopathic and antisocial traits.
The results revealed a clear link between a lower 2D:4D ratio (a longer ring finger than index finger) and antisocial traits, as well as higher scores on the Dark Triad personality tests.
Previous studies have shown that finger length is influenced by the amount of testosterone and oestrogen a foetus is exposed to in the womb.
Higher testosterone causes a lower 2D:4D ratio, while lower testosterone causes a higher 2D:4D ratio.
Serge Brand, lead researcher on the paper, told psychology news website
PsyPost: 'The more an adult participant had signs of psychopathology, the more it appeared that this adult has been exposed to higher testosterone concentrations and lower estrogen concentrations during the prenatal period of life.'
However, Mr Brand also stresses that a low 2D:4D ratio is not a surefire indicator of psychopathy.
He added: 'It is important to understand that the finger lengths-ratio as a proxy of a specific exposure to prenatal sex steroids should not be understood as a person's irrevocable fate.'
Scientists from the Centre de Recherche Charles-Le Moyne in Quebec have revealed an easy way to identify a psychopath in the real world - and it's all down to their hands.
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