2<scp>D</scp>:4<scp>D</scp> in Men Is Related to Aggressive Dominance but Not to Sociable Dominance

Meij, Leander van der; Almela, Mercedes; Buunk, Abraham P.; Dubbs, Shelli L.; Salvador, Alicia

doi:10.1002/ab.21422

Cited by 24 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…Whereas, C. angolensis ruwenzorii males are much more familiar with one another given the close proximity of core units in the multilevel society and within-band male dispersal pattern (Stead & Teichroeb, 2019). Penile displays and emphasis of the AGD region in C. angolensis ruwenzorii could also be aimed at female conspecifics, given the very high correlation between AGD length and fertility in male mammals (e.g., Eisenberg et al, 2011;Mendiola et al, 2011;Ophir & DelBarco-Trillo, 2007; Van den Driesche et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…is (Van den Driesche et al, 2011). In rats, AGD is determined by androgen levels during a critical time period in fetal development called the "masculinization programming window" (Carruthers & Foster, 2005;Foster & Harris, 2005;Macleod et al, 2010;Welsh et al, 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In rats, AGD is determined by androgen levels during a critical time period in fetal development called the "masculinization programming window" (Carruthers & Foster, 2005;Foster & Harris, 2005;Macleod et al, 2010;Welsh et al, 2008). Here, AGD is a stamp of PAE and only appears to grow in proportion to the overall growth of the rest of the body (Van den Driesche et al, 2011). However, because all male reproductive organs are programmed during the masculinization programming window, AGD is closely correlated with the size of the adult prostate, seminal vesicles, penis (length and girth), and testes (and therefore also sperm production) (Drake et al, 2009;Scott et al, 2008;Van den Driesche et al, 2011;Welsh, MacLeod, Walker, Smith, & Sharpe, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Anogenital distance as a measure of male competitive ability in Rwenzori Angolan colobus

Teichroeb

Stead

Edwards

et al. 2020

American J Primatol

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Anogenital distance (AGD) is positively correlated to fetal androgen exposure and developmental masculinization in mammals. Independent of overall body size, AGD shows a strong positive correlation with male fertility and in rodents, AGD is a good indicator of male competitive ability and is associated with female choice. We hypothesized that AGD will also predict male competitive ability in non‐human primates. To test this, we measured AGD noninvasively with a parallel laser in a wild population of Angolan colobus monkeys (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) in Uganda and correlated to it to their social structure. C. angolensis ruwenzorii form a multilevel society with both one‐male/multifemale units (OMUs) and multimale/multifemale units (MMUs). We compared AGD in males from five OMUs and six MMUs and related it to their fecal androgen metabolite concentrations, dominance rank and body size, and to the number of females in their unit. Males in OMUs had greater access to females, so were predicted to have longer AGDs, but this was not found. AGD also did not correlate overall with mean fecal androgen metabolites in MMUs. However, AGD was correlated with dominance rank in MMUs, demonstrating that higher‐ranking males in these multimale units had longer AGDs. Body size did not show the same relationship with dominance rank, suggesting that male rank was not just a reflection of absolute male size. Our findings indicate that AGD predicts male competitive ability in this species and that it may be a useful correlate throughout the non‐human primates. These results also support the idea that prenatal androgen exposure increases the likelihood of the expression of behaviors that maintain high dominance rank.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Anogenital distance as a measure of male competitive ability in Rwenzori Angolan colobus

Teichroeb

Stead

Edwards

et al. 2020

American J Primatol

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“…Specifically, table S.1 in the online supporting information illustrates the disconnect between what the results from 2D:4D studies show versus how scholars have talked about the empirical status of this relationship in the literature. For example, even though the most common outcome in this literature by far is a null result, scholars consistently have claimed that a “wide variety of studies” (Kuepper and Hennig, : 65), “numerous studies” (Schwerdtfeger, Heims, and Heer, : 270), “a number of studies” (Austin et al., : 1115), and “many studies” (Yang et al., : 50) all have shown that the 2D:4D ratio is correlated with a “dizzying” array of outcomes (Manning, ), with “several personality traits” (van der Meij et al., : 208) and “several psychological traits” (Bailey and Hurd, : 216; Dogan et al., : 152) such as aggression, risk seeking, and impulsivity. By comparison, efforts to describe this literature as either “mixed” or “inconclusive” have been rare (Aycinena, Baltadounis, and Rentschler, ; Gorka et al., ; Sapienza et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting the Criminological Consequences of Exposure to Fetal Testosterone: A Meta‐analysis of the 2d:4d Digit Ratio*

2016

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As criminology has become more interdisciplinary in recent years, biosocial criminology has earned a place at the table. Although this perspective comes in many forms, one important proposition has gained increasing attention: that the 2D:4D finger digit ratio—a purported physical biomarker for exposure to fetal testosterone—is related to criminal, aggressive, and risky/impulsive behavior. Strong claims in the literature have been made for this link even though the findings seem to be inconsistent. To establish the empirical status of this relationship, we subjected this body of work to a meta‐analysis. Our multilevel analyses of 660 effect size estimates drawn from 47 studies (14,244 individual cases) indicate a small overall effect size (mean r = .047). Moderator analyses indicate that this effect is rather “general” across methodological specifications—findings that are at odds with theoretical propositions that specify the importance of exposure to fetal testosterone in predicting criminal and analogous behavior later in life. We conclude with a call for exercising caution over embracing the findings from one or two studies and instead highlight the importance of systematically organizing the full body of literature on a topic before making decisions about what does, and what does not, predict criminal and analogous behavior.

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“…For example, individuals with low digit ratio score high on dominance scale (49), mainly in terms of aggressive dominance (51). This confirms the hypothesis that high level of prenatal testosterone and/or low level of prenatal estrogen is associated with dominance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploratory Analysis of the Links among Food Consumption Profiles, Prenatal Androgens, and Selected Measures of Quality of Life

Modlińska

Pisula

2016

Front. Public Health

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Prenatal sex steroids play a vital role in the development of the whole organism, and therefore also the brain. Exposure of the fetus to testosterone seems to be of special importance both for typical development and pathology. The key factor impacting offspring development (including prenatal androgen levels) appears to be diet, both in terms of shortage and excessive intake of certain food products. Prenatal steroid levels are measured using the ratio of the lengths of the second and fourth fingers (2D:4D). So far, the digit ratio (2D:4D) has been shown to correlate negatively with prenatal testosterone and positively with prenatal estrogen. Numerous correlational studies found relationships between the 2D:4D phenotype and differences in magnitude of many psychological traits. Certain social and demographic variables also correlate with the digit ratio. The present paper offers a preliminary analysis of correlations between diet, prenatal hormones’ levels (established based on the digit ratio), and selected social variables. One of the findings is that countries with high meat consumption present the so-called masculine digit ratio, while countries with plant-based diets – a feminine digit ratio.

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2D:4D in Men Is Related to Aggressive Dominance but Not to Sociable Dominance

Cited by 24 publications

References 24 publications

Anogenital distance as a measure of male competitive ability in Rwenzori Angolan colobus

Anogenital distance as a measure of male competitive ability in Rwenzori Angolan colobus

Revisiting the Criminological Consequences of Exposure to Fetal Testosterone: A Meta‐analysis of the 2d:4d Digit Ratio*

Exploratory Analysis of the Links among Food Consumption Profiles, Prenatal Androgens, and Selected Measures of Quality of Life

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