Abstract
Human decision-making has been frequently studied and sex differences have been reported. Interestingly, previous results of hormone concentration on decision-making are somewhat inconsistent, regarding the impact of menstrual cycle phase in women or the influence of testosterone concentration on decision-making in women and men. However, the influence of the female sex hormone concentration (estradiol, progesterone) and the impact of oral contraceptive intake have rarely been examined and data regarding the effect of daytime variations of male testosterone are lacking. Moreover if personality factors such as sensation seeking, impulsivity, and anxiety influence decision-making, sex-specific effects, act as modulators is unclear. In the present study 71 women and 45 men were enrolled. All participants performed an evaluated decision-making task measuring risk-taking behavior on the basis of contingencies (Haegler et al., 2010), which can be carried out several times without a learning effect. Saliva samples were collected to obtain estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone levels. Additionally, all participants completed questionnaires measuring various personality factors. Data analysis revealed no sex differences in decision-making and no significant impact of testosterone concentration on behavioral performance in women or men. However, a significant negative correlation between progesterone concentration of women in the luteal phase and their performance in the risk-averse condition was obtained. Interestingly, a significant correlation between trait anxiety and decision-making occurred in females and males. Despite similar risky decision-making of women and men and no influence of testosterone concentration, menstrual cycle phase showed an effect on risk taking in women. In contrary to other studies, our findings provide rather subtle evidence for hormonal influences in decision-making, which may be primarily explained by task factors.
Highlights
Every day is characterized by lots of decisions that we make, covering basic needs such as what to eat and drink and higher-order motives, e.g., who will I talk to during lunch break
The present study aimed at analyzing the impact of menstrual cycle phase, diurnal testosterone variation, and testosterone concentration on decision-making relying on an evaluated task without learning effect, Haegler’s Risk Game (HRG) (Haegler et al, 2010)
In a meta-analysis by Byrnes, Miller, and Schafer (1999) who reviewed over 150 papers on sex differences in risk taking, authors concluded that males are more likely to take risks than females
Summary
Every day is characterized by lots of decisions that we make, covering basic needs such as what to eat and drink and higher-order motives, e.g., who will I talk to during lunch break. One important factor of decision-making is risk taking, meaning the tendency of preferring an action with a possible large profitable or aversive outcome, unlikely, over an alternative action with small profitable more likely outcome. One approach to measure an individual’s propensity for risk taking in the face of monetary rewards and punishment is the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT, Bechara et al, 1994; Bechara, 2005) In this rather “economic” decision-making task participants learn to differentiate long-term advantageous from long-term disadvantageous decks of cards through exploration.
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