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Updated: Feb 10, 2026
11:51
Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
15.7K
Prestige in a large-scale social group predicts longitudinal changes in testosterone
Joey T Cheng1, Olga Kornienko2, Douglas A Granger3
1Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|May 18, 2018
Summary
Testosterone levels in men rise with higher prestige and fall with lower prestige, influencing future competition. This hormonal response calibrates behavior based on social status experiences.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Neuroendocrinology
- Social psychology
Background:
- Social status influences competitive behavior and is linked to testosterone fluctuations.
- Testosterone acts as a "competition hormone" in dominance-based hierarchies.
- Hormonal mechanisms in prestige-based status, distinct from dominance, remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between prestige-based social status and testosterone changes.
- To examine testosterone's role in behavioral plasticity within prestige hierarchies.
- To understand the hormonal basis of status-dependent competition.
Main Methods:
- Assessed prestige using community-wide nominations for talent and advice provision.
- Measured intraindividual changes in testosterone levels over two months.
- Studied a large-scale naturalistic community of men and women.
Main Results:
- Men achieving high prestige showed increased testosterone levels.
- Men with low prestige exhibited decreased or stable testosterone levels.
- No significant testosterone associations with prestige were found in women.
Conclusions:
- Testosterone levels dynamically adjust based on prestige-related social experiences in men.
- This hormonal calibration of testosterone may guide future prestige-seeking behaviors.
- Prestige-based status influences hormonal responses differently in men and women.
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