Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 23, 2026

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
Sex hormones and human behavior: a critique of the linear model
1San Francisco State University, CA 94132.
Abstract:
Behaviors in which human males and females differ are frequently attributed to fetal gonadal hormone exposures. Much current thinking on this topic relies on a model of explanation the authors call linear-analytic. This model emerges from studies of hormone-behavior relationships in nonhuman animals. Examining three areas of hormone-behavior research in humans, the authors argue that the form of explanation is inappropriate to the behavioral phenomena being explained. They urge the adoption of a more complex neurobiological approach that emphasizes the role of the cerebral cortex and correlatively minimizes the role of fetal hormones.
Related Concept Videos
Target Cell Response to Hormones
Notably, the cellular response can be regulated by altering the number of receptors expressed in the cell. For example, prolonged exposure to elevated hormone levels results in a gradual decline or down-regulation in the number of receptors for that specific hormone on the cell surface. Conversely, in response to low hormone levels, cells may use up-regulation, producing an...
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and lactation.
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Instinct Theory
Causes of Social Behavior III: Biological and Environmental Influences

