Testosterone, status, and mood in human males

Abstract

Experimental literature on nonhuman primates indicates that a male's testosterone level changes when his status changes, rising when he achieves or defends a dominant position, and falling when he is dominated. Three experiments are reported which test for a similar effect among adult human males. In the first experiment, subjects played in doubles tennis matches in which winners received prizes of $ 100 apiece. Most winners of matches who had decisive victories showed subsequent rises in testosterone relative to losers of these matches; however, the winners of one very close match, in which there was no clear cut triumph, did not show testosterone rises. In the second experiment, subjects won $100 prizes, or not, depending on the random draw of a lottery. Winners in this situation, where their fortunes came without any effort of their own, did not show subsequent testosterone rises which were greater than those of losers. The third experiment used the natural setting of a medical school graduation. Rises in testosterone were observed among new recipients of the M.D. degree 1 and 2 days after the ceremony. In these experiments, changes in testosterone showed some relationship to subjects' moods. These results suggest that when a man achieves a rise in status through his own efforts, and he has an elation of mood over the achievement, then he is likely to have a rise in testosterone.