Lower digit ratio and higher endogenous testosterone are associated with lower empathic accuracy

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroendocrinology
• Social Neuroscience

Background:

• Empathy is crucial for social functioning, influenced by psychological and biological factors.
• Testosterone, a gonadal steroid hormone, is implicated in empathy, but research using the 2D:4D ratio has yielded mixed results.
• Previous studies often relied on self-report empathy measures, potentially biased by social desirability and norms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between biological markers (2D:4D ratio and testosterone levels) and empathic accuracy.
• To overcome limitations of self-report measures by using a naturalistic, real-time empathic accuracy task.
• To examine if these biological factors influence empathy independently of sex/gender.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: Assessed empathic accuracy using a real-time emotional tracking task in 107 participants, correlating performance with 2D:4D digit ratio.
• Study 2: Assessed empathic accuracy in 76 participants, correlating performance with circulating testosterone levels.
• Controlled for sex/gender in all analyses and compared objective performance with self-reported empathy.

Main Results:

• Lower 2D:4D digit ratio was associated with poorer empathic accuracy in Study 1.
• Higher circulating testosterone levels were associated with poorer empathic accuracy in Study 2.
• Neither digit ratio nor testosterone levels affected self-reported empathy in either study.

Conclusions:

• Endogenous testosterone levels and 2D:4D digit ratio are linked to empathic accuracy, a key social-cognitive ability.
• Objective, performance-based measures of empathy are more sensitive to biological influences than self-report measures.
• Findings underscore the biological underpinnings of empathy and highlight methodological considerations in empathy research.