Testosterone Makes Men Less Likely to Question Their Impulses
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.
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?
ReplyDeleteThis 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteIt 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.