Finger Length and MBTI type

[meanlittlechimp]

Wanted to find out the correlation of some of the more prevalent types here, and finger length (which is a measure of how much pre-natal testosterone one supposedly has). If you're index finger is shorter than you're ring finger you supposedly have more testosterone (in males).

My theory is that INTPs/INTJs will have shorter index fingers (more pre-natal testosterone)

[Jgib5328]

I've never seen someone whose index finger wasn't shorter than their ring finger..

[TheLastMohican]

I've never seen someone whose index finger wasn't shorter than their ring finger..

Are you sure? A lot of people (especially females) have ring fingers of equal length to their index fingers. Check everybody's hands and tell them it's a scientific study.

[Uytuun]

My ring fingers are longer than my index fingers. The difference is detectable, but not really something you notice at first sight.

What is the effect of high pre-natal testosterone levels?

[Sod]

My right index finger is shorter than my right ring finger, but on my left hand they are equal. So I chose the first option to go with the average. Interestingly, my left and right ring fingers are equal length, but all the other left fingers are approximately 5mm longer than their counterparts. This may confirm my suspicion that I was naturally left-handed but trained myself to be right-handed early in childhood. Also, my hand and fingers are very small (ring fingers 7cm; right index 6.5cm, left 7cm; right middle 7cm, left middle 7.5 etc).

[meanlittlechimp]

I've never seen someone whose index finger wasn't shorter than their ring finger..

If I recall correctly, it was near 50/50. Going to look for the control group number after dinner. Thanks for participating.

[Lagawrd]

I've never seen someone whose index finger wasn't shorter than their ring finger..

I have never seen them either, but I heard they exist. However I do not think this has anything to do with personality.

[meanlittlechimp]

I have never seen them either, but I heard they exist. However I do not think this has anything to do with personality.

Well my hunch is that testosterone levels do affect personality.

Men are twice as likely to have longer ring fingers, while women are more likely to have the same or longer index fingers (though I can't find the exact ratio yet).

I've found an INTJ and ISTP women offline that actually have much shorter index fingers.

[Lagawrd]

Well my hunch is that testosterone levels do affect personality.

Men are twice as likely to have longer ring fingers, while women are more likely to have the same or longer index fingers (though I can't find the exact ratio yet).

I've found an INTJ and ISTP women offline that actually have much shorter index fingers.


If you are using testosterone as the independent variable, then you are just breaking it down to only male and female personalities which is extremely broad. I think we would need something more than testoterone to go any deeper.

[Antares]

Well my hunch is that testosterone levels do affect personality.


Does testosterone level affect my INTJ'ness? Am I high in testosterone? I have shorter index fingers as well.

[INTJoe]

Index shorter here. I've also heard that women are more likely to have a longer index finger, than ring. My ENFP sister's index is longer than her ring. Not sure about my mother.

[Sylvanus]

Sex ID (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

This test asks a bunch of questions and asks for the proportions of you index and ring fingers. Supposedly women that were exposed to a higher amount of testosterone in the womb (shorter index fingers) are supposed to be more likely to be tomboys and/or lesbians.

[meanlittlechimp]

If you are using testosterone as the independent variable, then you are just breaking it down to only male and female personalities which is extremely broad. I think we would need something more than testoterone to go any deeper.

I wasn't trying to go that deep. I just wanted to find out if there is a correlation to testosterone and type (which I suspect). To do this more scientifically, however, I would have to measure actual ratios or use a more accurate way to determine testosterone level.

The results on this poll so far, actually went beyond expectations. Though the sample size is small - and this little experiment is far from scientific.


Sex ID (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

This test asks a bunch of questions and asks for the proportions of you index and ring fingers. Supposedly women that were exposed to a higher amount of testosterone in the womb (shorter index fingers) are supposed to be more likely to be tomboys and/or lesbians. or intjs....

[Sylvanus]

or intjs....

Exactly. If only we had the funding, we could do a full scale test.

[meanlittlechimp]

Exactly. If only we had the funding, we could do a full scale test.

The beauty of measuring finger ratios is that it could be done cheaply. I have no idea how to more accurately measure testosterone level using traditional more accurate and more expensive medical techniques. I could look it up, but I'm assuming it's expensive. You wonderful J's are less lazy, so maybe one of you will..... *Hint* ;)

The problem is that the best tests with licensed MBTI administrators are 70% accurate at best (according to them), I think it's significantly lower. I do think skilled people can get over 70% with people they know well, but from a brief interview and a multiple choice test (it's much harder). I would imagine,however, that a correlation could still be detected (while factoring that in) with a large enough sample size to be scientifically valid. Wish I would have paid more attention in statistics and probability class.

Surely, someone here must have the expertise to answer these questions. What's the point of getting this many INTJs in one place anyways??, if not to solve your math problems for you!! If anyone responds to this plea, please assume that finger ratios actually do reflect testosterone level and that mbti is valid (for the most part).

[meanlittlechimp]

Let me rephrase that. I just reread it and i didn't define the problem more clearly.

ASSUMING that a test is only 70% accurate at detecting one of 16 types. AND assuming that finger length ratio was 100% accurate for detecting testosterone.

How large does your sample size to have to be, to prove correlation between testosterone and type?

I suck at math.

[Alstroemeria]

I heard about this, it was just related to musical talent or something like that. My index fingers are shorter than my ring finger about three quarters of a centimeter.

[Sylvanus]

Let me rephrase that. I just reread it and i didn't define the problem more clearly.

ASSUMING that a test is only 70% accurate at detecting one of 16 types. AND assuming that finger length ratio was 100% accurate for detecting testosterone.

How large does your sample size to have to be, to prove correlation between testosterone and type?

I suck at math.

I think that would fall under 'statistics' and while I could get guess at what the numbers would be, I don't know if they'd be statistically accurate/relevant. I've never taken any statistics classes, I know it can get pretty complicated.

[Jakalwarrior]

I believe they only related it to testosterone levels while in the womb. The horomone levels while you are in the womb decide how your brain is wired. It has been linked to your chances to be homosexual (I believe extremely high levels of testosterone make males more likely to be gay), whether or not you like sports etc.. and whether you are a math or literature person (oddly I think low testosterone was linked to math). Im sure there were more. It has been correlated with different personality traits but I dont think theyve got so far as to link it to MBTI types. You could probably dig up what work was already done and fit it into an MBTI framework though.

[lordrrr]

What if my left hand's ring finger and index finger are the same and my right hands index finger is shorter?

[Sylvanus]

It's been a while since I took the test, but I think it's supposed to be the average difference of the two.

[meanlittlechimp]

Interesting... The first question they ask you on To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. when determining your compatibility with potential dates - is how long your index finger is, by showing you pictures of various hands.

[johnlow]

My ring finger is longer than my index finger on both hands. Anyway, I read a scientific article before regarding the ring finger being shorter than the index finger, and it's correlated to penis size. Let me see whether I can pull out that article.





johnlow added to this post, 16 minutes and 16 seconds later...

This is the article linking Hox genes with fingers, toes and penis.

Scientific Correspondence

Nature 390, 29 (6 November 1997) | doi:10.1038/36234
Of fingers, toes and penises

Takashi Kondo1, József Zákány1, Jeffrey W. Innis1 and Denis Duboule1
Top of page
Abstract

Vertebrate Hox genes are essential for limb development. The posterior-most Hoxd and Hoxa genes are required for growth and patterning of digits and are also strongly expressed in the genital bud, which gives rise to the urogenital system, including the penis. Here, we show that removal of posterior Hox gene function results in a concomitant loss of digits and genital bud-derivatives, illustrating that similar developmental mechanisms are at work in these different buds.





johnlow added to this post, 2 minutes and 45 seconds later...

The topic of the ring and index finger length made me remember the Hox gene family. Just thought of sharing this with everyone.

Anyway, more interesting reads on the topic.

[Sylvanus]

What I got from that is that there is a digital effect: on or off. The gene (or lack thereof) tells you if it should or shouldn't be there, not how big it gets.

[johnlow]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Finger and toe ratios in humans and mice: implications for the aetiology of diseases influenced by HOX genes .
Medical Hypotheses , Volume 60 , Issue 3 , Page 340
J . Manning

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.





johnlow added to this post, 4 minutes and 47 seconds later...

Well as with most scientific hypothesis, there's bound to be controversies. So it depends on which studies you believe in. I haven't done much research on the topic, hence I can't tell you off-hand whether the hypothesis is based on solid experimental data or not. Just thought of bringing up this association for all to discuss.

Cheers!

[Sylvanus]

Ok, so it seems that the testosterone levels in the womb have a large effect before birth, and after birth the Hox genes take it from there.

[soundchaser]

My index finger is shorter than my ring finger by such a tiny margin, I wonder if I am even giving a statistically relevant answer in this poll.

[melon]

My index finger is about 2 or 3 mm longer than my ring finger, and I'm male. I'm surprised with the poll results; I assumed this was the norm. Honestly though, it seems ridiculous to me to think that finger length is correlated with MBTI type. :/

[Caramel]

When I read the title, my first thought was 'what a lot of bollocks'. Untill I checked my index and ring fingers and found out the poll results..

[MCR]

Well my hunch is that testosterone levels do affect personality.

I read an article about this a while back that made that conclusion as well, and they used the "finger experiment" as a side blurb of sorts. After I read it, I began to notice the index finger/ring finger lengths of friends and family and I did find quite a few people who's index fingers were longer. Prior to that I had never noticed a single person with this trait. I must not have been looking hard enough. :)

[Grizzly]

Pretty high pole results leading towards your theory.

I did think that the index finger being shorter than the ring finger was the norm and the opposite being a rarity.

I thought that INTJ's suffered from a lack of testosterone in the womb which leads to our state of tentative apprehension. But I havent done any research regarding that specifically so........

[Nanashi]

Left hand: ring finger longer Right hand: index finger longer

Female INTJ

[Erika Redmark]

Mine are almost the same…on my right hand, I think they're exactly the same length, but on my left hand, my index finger is a tiny bit longer.

[ShaiGar]

Exactly the same on right and left hand. Ring finger is longer than index.

[Beery Swine]

I've heard that shorter index fingers are typically a masculine trait, whether male or female, that lesbians tend to have shorter IFs and gay men longer. Not always, just typically. But I haven't actually looked into it, so don't take my word for it.

[Elfrun]

How odd :undecided: