Testosterone, cortisol, and mood in a sports team competition

In humans, hormonal responses to winning/losing and their relationships to mood and status change have mostly been examined in individual athletic competitions. In this study, the salivary testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) and mood responses to a real match between two professional basketball teams were investigated. Data about individuals' contributions to outcome, performance appraisal, and attribution of outcome to internal/external factors were also collected. Results did not show statistically significant different T and C responses depending on the outcome. Negative mood was significantly enhanced, especially in the losers, while winners showed a better appraisal of team performance and a more internal attribution. T response did not show a significant relationship with mood changes, but it correlated positively with the "score/time playing" ratio, an indicator of individual participation in the outcome. Furthermore, T response correlated negatively with external attribution in winners and positively in losers. These results indicate that in a real, highly competitive situation, T changes are not directly a response to the outcome, but rather to the contribution the individual makes to it and to the causes he attributes.