A new study from the US has found we perceive men to be bigger and stronger when holding weapons than when they are holding non-threatening objects.
Researchers, led by University of California anthropologist Daniel Fessler, conducted five different online surveys that found men holding a gun or a large kitchen knife were viewed as larger and more muscular than those holding objects such as toys or tools.
This pattern could not be explained by any actual correlation between gun ownership and physical size, they said in their report published in PLoS One journal.
Dr Fessler said for nearly all vertebrates, size mattered and bigger animals won fights with smaller animals.
"Human psychology reflects this, as people use size as a way of conceptualising how dangerous another person might be," he said.
In one of the surveys, participants were asked to determine height from looking at men's hands holding tools or a gun. All the hands were about the same size with a similar amount of hair.
In the other online questionnaires, people were asked to rate the muscularity of men after looking at hands holding weapons, tools or toys.
The research paper says the findings cannot be readily explained in terms of inferences derived from prior observation by the participants because gun owners aren't taller than people who don't own guns.
