Abstract
The ratio of index finger length to ring finger length (2D:4D) is considered to be a putative biomarker of prenatal androgen exposure (PAE), with previous research suggesting that 2D:4D is associated with human behaviors, especially sex-typical behaviors. This study empirically examines the relationship between 2D:4D and individual competitiveness, a behavioral trait that is found to be sexually dimorphic. We employ two related, but distinct, measures of competitiveness, namely behavioral measures obtained from economic experiments and psychometric self-reported measures. Our analyses are based on two independent data sets obtained from surveys and economic experiments with 461 visitors of a shopping mall (Study I) and 617 university students (Study II). The correlation between behavior in the economic experiment and digit ratios of both hands is not statistically significant in either study. In contrast, we find a negative and statistically significant relationship between psychometric self-reported measures of competitiveness and right hand digit ratios (R2D:4D) in both studies. This relationship is especially strong for younger people. Hence, this study provides some robust empirical evidence for a negative association between R2D:4D and self-reported competitiveness. We discuss potential reasons why digit ratio may relate differently to behaviors in specific economics experiments and to self-reported general competitiveness.
Highlights
Digit ratio (2D:4D), comparing the length of the index finger to the length of the ring finger, is a sexually dimorphic trait with males displaying, on average, a lower digit ratio than females (Manning and Fink, 2008; Hönekopp and Watson, 2010)
The usefulness of digit ratios as a retrospective marker of prenatal androgen exposure (PAE) is challenged in the more recent literature (Hines et al, 2015; Warrington et al, 2016), this assumption neither restricts nor invalidates our empirical analysis since we only examine whether individual competitiveness is related to digit ratio (2D:4D)
We first explore whether we can replicate the finding of previous research indicating that 2D:4D and individual competitiveness are sexually dimorphic
Summary
Digit ratio (2D:4D), comparing the length of the index finger to the length of the ring finger, is a sexually dimorphic trait with males displaying, on average, a lower digit ratio than females (Manning and Fink, 2008; Hönekopp and Watson, 2010). Digit Ratio and Individual Competitiveness mammalian brain, which has an enduring influence on behavior (Lombardo et al, 2012; Auyeung et al, 2013; Hines et al, 2015; Manning et al, 2017) These organizational effects of PAE are critically important for the masculinization and sexually differentiated behaviors across the lifespan (Archer, 2006). Those human behaviors that differ by sex are especially expected to be influenced by PAE (Hines et al, 2015). Endorsing the practical relevance of competitiveness, scholars propose that the heterogeneity in sex-specific individual competitiveness may even play an important role for educational and occupational choices (Bönte and Piegeler, 2013; Buser et al, 2014; Flory et al, 2015; Reuben et al, 2015; Bönte et al, 2017b)
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