Basal testosterone moderates responses to anger faces in humans

Wirth, Mary J.; Schultheiss, Oliver C.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.10.016

Cited by 126 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(104 reference statements)

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“…18) and women (44)(45)(46)(47). This research adds to the growing evidence that testosterone plays an important role in female social behavior (48)(49)(50)(51). In sum, the relation between testosterone and social behavior apparently has much communality in human males and females.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 59%

Testosterone decreases trust in socially naïve humans

Bos

Terburg

Honk

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

177

129

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Trust plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of human social relationships. But trusting others is associated with a cost, given the prevalence of cheaters and deceivers in human society. Recent research has shown that the peptide hormone oxytocin increases trust in humans. However, oxytocin also makes individuals susceptible to betrayal, because under influence of oxytocin, subjects perseverate in giving trust to others they know are untrustworthy. Testosterone, a steroid hormone associated with competition and dominance, is often viewed as an inhibitor of sociality, and may have antagonistic properties with oxytocin. The following experiment tests this possibility in a placebo-controlled, within-subjects design involving the administration of testosterone to 24 female subjects. We show that compared with the placebo, testosterone significantly decreases interpersonal trust, and, as further analyses established, this effect is determined by those who give trust easily. We suggest that testosterone adaptively increases social vigilance in these trusting individuals to better prepare them for competition over status and valued resources. In conclusion, our data provide unique insights into the hormonal regulation of human sociality by showing that testosterone downregulates interpersonal trust in an adaptive manner.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 59%

Testosterone decreases trust in socially naïve humans

Bos

Terburg

Honk

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

177

129

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“…Testosterone level Testosterone level in both men and women influences selective attention to angry faces (van Honk et al, 1999;Wirth & Schultheiss, 2007). King and colleagues (2012) conducted a dot-probe task to investigate the effects of testosterone administration on attentional biases in rhesus monkeys.…”

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dot-probe task to measure emotional attention: A suitable measure in comparative studies?

2017

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For social animals, attending to and recognizing the emotional expressions of other individuals is of crucial importance for their survival and likely has a deep evolutionary origin. Gaining insight into how emotional expressions evolved as adaptations over the course of evolution can be achieved by making direct cross-species comparisons. To that extent, experimental paradigms that are suitable for investigating emotional processing across species need to be developed and evaluated. The emotional dot-probe task, which measures attention allocation toward emotional stimuli, has this potential. The task is implicit, and subjects need minimal training to perform the task successfully. Findings in nonhuman primates, although scarce, show that they, like humans, have an attentional bias toward emotional stimuli. However, the wide literature on human studies has shown that different factors can have important moderating effects on the results. Due to the large heterogeneity of this literature, these moderating effects often remain unnoticed. We here review this literature and show that subject characteristics and differences in experimental designs affect the results of the dot-probe task. We conclude with specific recommendations regarding these issues that are particularly relevant to take into consideration when applying this paradigm to study animals.

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“…However, levels of testosterone in women vary over the course of the menstrual cycle and even over the course of several days (Sellers et al 2007). A number of studies have found associations between basal or exogenous levels of testosterone and behaviors or attitudes associated with dominance striving in men and women (Dabbs 1997, Wirth & Schultheiss 2007 and women alone (Cashdan 1995, Grant & France 2001, Hermans et al 2006a.…”

Section: Some Evidence From Adult Men and Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Early Development of Gender Differences

McIntyre

Edwards

2009

Annu. Rev. Anthropol.

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This article reviews findings from anthropology, psychology, and other disciplines about the role of biological factors in the development of sex differences in human behavior, including biological theories, the developmental course of sex differences, and the interaction of biological and cultural gendering processes at different ages. Current evidence suggests that major biological influences on individual differences in human gender, to the extent that they exist, operate primarily in early development, during and especially prior to puberty. Biological effects are likely to be mediated by relatively simple processes, like temperament, which are then elaborated through social interactions (as with mother and peers) into more complex gendered features of adult personality. Biological anthropologists and psychologists interested in gender should direct more attention to understanding how social processes influence the development and function of the reproductive endocrine system.

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Basal testosterone moderates responses to anger faces in humans

Cited by 126 publications

References 64 publications

Testosterone decreases trust in socially naïve humans

Testosterone decreases trust in socially naïve humans

The dot-probe task to measure emotional attention: A suitable measure in comparative studies?

The Early Development of Gender Differences

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