Testosterone Makes Men Less Likely to Question Their Impulses

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http://neurosciencenews.com/testosterone-male-impulse-6532/
                This study consisted of 243 males, randomly selected to receive a dose of testosterone gel or a placebo gel. After the dose the men completed a task to test their engagement, motivation level, and basic math skills. Participants could take as much time as they wanted and were rewarded $1 for each correct answer. The men who received testosterone gave incorrect answers to questions more quickly, correct answers more slowly, and answered 20% fewer questions correctly on average. Researchers believe that the results show how testosterone increases confidence in humans. This study supports how testosterone enhances a male’s drive for social status and how confidence enhances that status.

                Society believes that men have a stereotype of being more confident; but this article shows that it is much deeper than a stereotype. Testosterone being a factor with confidence debunks some gender stereotypes such as a man being the one to ask out a woman. I am not saying that a woman cannot do so, but if men have more confidence it makes sense that many heterosexual relationships begin in this way.  When looking at motivational theories if men are more confident and less likely to self-reflect then they would seek more sensation with the arousal theory. 

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 1, 2017 at 10:55 PM

    This was an intriguing read. I wish the article would go into a little more detail about the correlation between confidence and testosterone. I also wonder what the effects are if a man has too much testosterone in his system? And whether or not the increase in confidence/impulse in males with added testosterone is also a survival trait?

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  2. UnknownMay 1, 2017 at 11:33 PM

    This is a really interesting article to reflect on. It makes me think about decisions I've made in the past and what influenced my confidence in those decisions. Was I confident in making certain decisions because of testosterone or because I thought it through and made the right choice? It definitely gives me a lot to think about.

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  3. UnknownMay 1, 2017 at 11:51 PM

    I agree that this article was very interesting. The results kind of seem to support some stereotypes against males. Males are often seen as impulsive and reckless. I wonder how testosterone affects more reckless impulsive behaviors in males rather than the rate at which they answered questions correctly or incorrectly. Brian asks a great question about this article which I feel could lead to further research on the subject. Confidence in males would be a great topic to explore and could be explored past impulses. I also would like to see if increased testosterone levels would cause the same impulsive behaviors in women the same way as it does for males.

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  4. UnknownMay 2, 2017 at 8:38 AM

    I really enjoyed the idea of this article. It was pleasing to have a scientific reason to explain the boost in men's confidence in certain situations. I wonder if this is why society expects men to make the first move, that would make sense.
    It would be interesting to do a study with girls and see if they have the same results to the extent that they have lower amounts of testosterone.

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