In a recent edition of The New York Times, psychology professor Lisa Feldman Barrett delved into the subject, “When a gun is not a gun.”

In her op-ed she discussed the psychological phenomenon called “affective realism.” Barrett defines “affective realism” in this manner, “the tendency of your feelings to influence what you see — not what you think you see, but the actual content of your perceptual experience.”

You can read her full op-ed by clicking here.