Abstract
The dual-hormone hypothesis posits that social status is positively related to testosterone levels when cortisol levels are relatively low and negatively related to testosterone levels when cortisol is high. In the present study, we test this hypothesis with Olympic-level women athletes using a novel status-hierarchy generation task that establishes rank-order among teammates along three dimensions: leadership ability, popularity, and skill. Participants completed the hierarchy generation task and then, testosterone and cortisol levels were obtained from samples provided on a neutral-day baseline and immediately prior to competing in an international match. The interaction between cortisol and testosterone predicted social status among teammates for both baseline and pre-match samples. Specifically, there was a negative association between testosterone and status for those who were relatively high in cortisol. These results provide support for the dual-hormone hypothesis using a new, ecologically valid method for determining rank-order among members of a social group, in a special population of women athletes competing at the highest level of their sport.
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