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Updated: Mar 20, 2026

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
Single dose testosterone administration reduces loss chasing in healthy females
Yin Wu1, Jinting Liu2, Lujing Qu3
1Research Center for Brain Function and Psychological Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Testosterone has been linked to modulation of impulsivity and risky choice, potentially mediated by changes in reward or punishment sensitivity. This study investigated the effect of testosterone on risk-taking and the adjustment of risk-taking on trials following a gain or a loss. Loss chasing is operationalized herein as the propensity to recover losses by increasing risky choice. Healthy female participants (n=26) received a single-dose of 0.5mg sublingual testosterone in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design. At 240min post-administration, participants performed a gambling task with a high and a low risk option. In the placebo condition, participants were more likely to choose the high risk option following losses compared to wins. This effect was abolished on the testosterone session. Ignoring prior outcomes, no overall changes in risk-taking were observed. Our data indicate that testosterone affects human decision-making via diminishing sensitivity to punishment.
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