Personality differences of applicants for the gun license (proprioceptive and verbal tests)

The Proprioceptive Diagnosis of Temperament and Character (DP-TC) test (Tous, 2008), which assesses fine motor performance without vision of one's own body, was used together with a verbal personality test (Durán, García, García, & Martínez, 2001) to examine personality differences between a group of gun licence (GL) applicants and a group from the general population (GP). MANOVA results showed significant differences between the groups on the DP-TC test, with the GL group scoring higher on Emotionality (Temperament) and Impulsivity (Temperament and Character) and lower on Decision-Making (Temperament and Character) and Mood (Temperament). In the GL group, fine motor performance on the DP-TC test was compared with the verbal test results by means of a principal components analysis with varimax rotation. The results corresponding to the Temperament dimensions of the DP-TC test showed only one association with the verbal test variables, thus corroborating the notion that Temperament has little social influence. Comparison of the proprioceptive and verbal tests showed that the results on the Emotionality scale of the DP-TC were consistent with those on the Ego-strength scale of the verbal personality test, but not with Neuroticism; this suggests that these subjects might fake their replies in order to obtain the gun licence.