Placebo Effect and guns?

[GardoneVT]

As I peruse my Intro to Stats online textbook, I cant help but pose whether or not any enterprising souls have tested the placebo effect vis a vis firearms. If people surveyed in the control group of a medical study claim theyve been healed when theyve factually not been , I wonder if the same effect would exist on a gun range.

Example experiment; two blued 1911s are used. Both are factory stock. The shooters are told one weapon contains modified internal parts such as a Wilson Combat extractor, slide stop, guide rod, etc. Theyre told the other is stock, and both are shot side by side with the shooters' subjective experience recorded at the end of a 3 magazine string of fire.

Has any such experiment been performed, and if so what were the results?

[MDS]

Seems like that test is run many times every day on youtube, facebook, and many gun forums. Overwhelmingly the subjective measure is that cool gizmos rock!!!

Unfortunately, these tests don't usually have any objective measures to compare to the subjective measures. In the rare case where they do (e.g., in competition or at a quality class) the objective measures don't seem to match up with the subjective ones, near as I can tell. I know in my own experience, the subjectively-felt improvements of whiz-bang gear doesn't seem to show up on the timer or the target - regardless of my self-perceived awesomeness with either gun, I have just as much room for improvement whether shooting a bone-stock G19 or a Salient G34.....

[RevolverRob]

They have done placebo tests with consumer goods before and the results are usually similar to placebo effect in drugs. The one I am thinking of was an old Motor Trend/Road & Track/someone I can't remember did a test like this with Mustangs, IIRC. Two identical V8 mustangs under the skin, but told them one was a "Shelby" and drivers and reviewers consistently rated the "Shelby Mustang" higher. I think I remember another series of tests on name brand/generic brand products as well, but I can't recall details. Perception + Confirmation Bias plays a pretty big role in overall performance for some people.

-Rob

[Lomshek]

Such a test with some metrics like bill drill times, FAST, and other measurable results would be even more interesting than just asking which gun felt better.

[hufnagel]

If I may reverse the question... what would you think the placebo effect WOULDN'T occur with firearms?

[trailrunner]

This is a common thing in high-end bikes (bicycles). If you go out and spend a lot of of money on a new set of wheels to save a couple of grams and reduce drag by a small amount, you sure better feel faster on your first ride with your new equipment. When ceramic bearings first started coming out, I bought a new bottom bracket with ceramic bearings. My peers asked me if I could tell a difference, but honestly, I could not.

[45dotACP]

Depends...skill level of shooters, metrics used, and if they are gear ho's :)

[JHC]

It is often observed here on PF that the new gun effect may create heightened focus that results in seemingly better measured performance also. Yet may plane out over time. I would think this too might be grouped into a placebo effect even though initial metrics seem to justify the first impression.

I've seen more than one new shooter get the sophomore slump in subsequent trips to shoot after the hyper focus on fundamentals wears off.

[TCinVA]

Relatively soon you should learn what a .05 level of significance and confounded variables are, and of the importance of the size of n. It's difficult to get the kind of information we're concerned about in terms of reliability and shooting performance that allows for the use of statistical methods to make solid conclusions. There are just way too many variables and the sample sizes are far too small.

[hufnagel]

translation? it's all bovine feces? :D

I agree with JHC though; "new" guns are more accurate because you're focusing more because it's "new".

[joshs]

We've used the term "honeymoon period" to refer to this in a couple of discussions about changing guns on the forum. I think you could easily replace "honeymoon period" with "placebo effect".

[Drang]

Drill Sergeant Dailey gave me this magic feather... :p

[Sensei]

It is often observed here on PF that the new gun effect may create heightened focus that results in seemingly better measured performance also. Yet may plane out over time. I would think this too might be grouped into a placebo effect even though initial metrics seem to justify the first impression.

I've seen more than one new shooter get the sophomore slump in subsequent trips to shoot after the hyper focus on fundamentals wears off.

It sounds like you are describing in layman's terms what is called a Hawthorne Effect. Basically, it means that study subjects alter their behavior because of the study. This is a major reason why we include control arms in prospective studies.

http://psychology.about.com/od/hindex/g/def_hawthorn.htm

Assuming that you do not think about research bias on a daily basis, your example of hyperfocus on fundamentals is an astute example of the Hawthorne Effect - very impressive.