Exogenous testosterone increases status-seeking motivation in men with unstable low social status

Abstract

Testosterone is associated with status-seeking behaviors such as competition, which may depend on whether one wins or loses status, but also on the stability of one’s status. We examined (1) to what extent testosterone administration affects competition behavior in repeated social contests in men with high or low rank, and (2), whether this relationship is moderated by hierarchy stability, as predicted by the status instability hypothesis. Using a real effort-based design in healthy male participants (N = 173 males), we first found that testosterone (vs. placebo) increased motivation to compete for status, but only in individuals with a low unstable status. A second part of the experiment, tailored to directly compare stable with unstable hierarchies, indicated that exogenous testosterone again increased competitive motivation in individuals with a low unstable status, but decreased competition behavior in men with low stable status. Additionally, exogenous testosterone increased motivation in those with a stable high status. Further analysis suggested that these effects were moderated by individuals’ trait dominance, and genetic differences assessed by the androgen receptor (CAG-repeat) and dopamine transporter (DAT1) polymorphisms. Our study provides evidence that testosterone specifically boosts status-related motivation when there is an opportunity to improve one’s social status. The findings contribute to our understanding of testosterone’s causal role in status-seeking motivation in competition behavior, and indicate that testosterone adaptively increases our drive for high status in a context-dependent manner. We discuss potential neurobiological pathways through which testosterone may attain these effects on behavior.

Testosterone, mood, behaviour and quality of life

“…Correspondingly, in a pharmacological trial in 173 men, exogenous testosterone vs. placebo increased motivation to compete for status, but only in individuals with an unstable low status or a stable high status and short CAG repeats. Men with a stable low status refrained from competition regardless of testosterone and genetic background 62 …”

The face of morality: Powerful Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs’) facial characteristics and moral foundations.

“…However, the relationship between testosterone levels and power-or status-seeking behaviors is not straightforward; only under certain circumstances will high-testosterone males choose to compete in power or status contests. For example, Losecaat Vermeer et al (2020) found that exogenous testosterone (vs. placebo) increased males' decisions to compete in social contests when their low rank was unstable (vs. stable). While high testosterone is associated with individuals' pursuit of power or status-seeking, dominance, competition, and violence (Mazur & Booth, 1998), the individual difference in testosterone may not necessarily makes individuals attain high power (depending on the opportunities available to them and the contexts they are in).…”

Single-Dose of Testosterone and the MAOA VNTR Polymorphism Influence Emotional and Behavioral Responses in Men During a Non-social Frustration Task

“…MAOA expression might influence aggression in interaction with testosterone more indirectly via serotonin (Birger et al, 2003 ; Montoya et al, 2012 ). Recently, it has also been shown that the effects of exogenous testosterone are moderated by variations in the dopaminergic system (Losecaat Vermeer et al, 2020 ). As suggested by the authors, testosterone might act via androgen-dependent actions on striatal dopamine to influence status-seeking motivation.…”