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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
11:51
Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 3, 2011
Fetal testosterone and empathy
Rebecca Knickmeyer1, Simon Baron-Cohen, Peter Raggatt
1Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, UK. rk250@cam.ac.uk
Hormones and Behavior
|October 18, 2005
Summary
Fetal testosterone (fT) influences human social development. Prenatal fT levels correlate with how children describe social interactions, impacting their communication styles and potentially linking to autism theories.
Area of Science:
- Neuroendocrinology
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Fetal testosterone (fT) is crucial for brain organization and social behavior in animals.
- Prenatal androgen exposure in humans can influence masculine behavior and sex-typed traits.
- Individual variations in fT levels correlate with later sex-typed behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between prenatal fetal testosterone (fT) levels and social communication in 4-year-old children.
- To explore how fT influences the description of social interactions and psychological motivations.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed fT levels in amniotic fluid from 38 children (24 male, 14 female).
- Followed up children at age 4 and assessed their descriptions of animated social interactions.
- Quantified the use of mental state terms, affective terms, intentional propositions, and neutral propositions.
Main Results:
- Females used more mental/affective state terms and intentional propositions than males.
- fT was negatively correlated with intentional propositions in females and overall (controlling for sex).
- Males used more neutral propositions than females, with fT positively correlated with neutral propositions overall (controlling for sex).
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest fT plays a role in human social development and communication styles.
- The study discusses the implications for the 'extreme male brain' theory of autism.
- Prenatal fT influences how children narrate social dynamics and motivations.
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