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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 3, 2011
Sex hormones and cognitive functioning in men
1Institute of Human Biology, University of Hamburg, FRG.
Abstract:
Blood and saliva samples were obtained from 117 healthy young men, following which radioimmunoassays were used to determine the serum concentrations of testosterone (Tser), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and the level of free testosterone (Tsal) in the saliva. The cognitive functioning was determined by five spatial and six verbal ipsative test scores, reflecting intra-individual variance in the performance of these tasks, independent of the person's general level of achievement. Within the normal physiological range of androgen levels--especially Tser and to a lesser extent DHT and Tsal--showed a significantly positive correlation with measures of spatial ability and field dependence-independence and a significantly negative correlation with measures of verbal production.
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