The mismatch effect: When testosterone and status are at odds.

Josephs, Robert; Sellers, Jennifer Guinn; Newman, Matthew L.; Mehta, Pranjal H.

doi:10.1037/0022-3514.90.6.999

Cited by 220 publications

(235 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(95 reference statements)

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“…Second, status and hierarchical stability interactively influenced testosterone reactivity, which negatively predicted interview performance. This biological pathway extends prior research, in which higher basal testosterone levels were related to status-seeking motivation and impaired cognitive performance under conditions of experimentally induced status threat (e.g., defeat in competition) (26)(27)(28). Elevated testosterone reactivity in the present study may have led individuals to focus on their threatened status, rather than the speech task at hand, disrupting cognitive functioning when delivering the speech, and undermining performance evaluations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Prior research on acute cortisol responses and performance outcomes in stressful contexts has yielded mixed results (e.g., decision making performance) (23)(24)(25), but the consequences of acute testosterone responses for performance under social-evaluative stress have been largely overlooked. There is indirect evidence that elevated basal testosterone concentrations in status-threatening situations (e.g., losing a competition) predicts hypervigilance to status cues and impaired cognitive performance (26)(27)(28). Extending this prior research to the present study, we explored whether acute cortisol or testosterone responses to the stressor explained the effects of status and hierarchy instability on social-evaluative performance.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 85%

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Hierarchy stability moderates the effect of status on stress and performance in humans

Knight

Mehta

2016

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

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High social status reduces stress responses in numerous species, but the stress-buffering effect of status may dissipate or even reverse during times of hierarchical instability. In an experimental test of this hypothesis, 118 participants (57.3% female) were randomly assigned to a high-or low-status position in a stable or unstable hierarchy and were then exposed to a social-evaluative stressor (a mock job interview). High status in a stable hierarchy buffered stress responses and improved interview performance, but high status in an unstable hierarchy boosted stress responses and did not lead to better performance. This general pattern of effects was observed across endocrine (cortisol and testosterone), psychological (feeling in control), and behavioral (competence, dominance, and warmth) responses to the stressor. The joint influence of status and hierarchy stability on interview performance was explained by feelings of control and testosterone reactivity. Greater feelings of control predicted enhanced interview performance, whereas increased testosterone reactivity predicted worse performance. These results provide direct causal evidence that high status confers adaptive benefits for stress reduction and performance only when the social hierarchy is stable. When the hierarchy is unstable, high status actually exacerbates stress responses.status | stress | performance | testosterone | cortisol

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 85%

Hierarchy stability moderates the effect of status on stress and performance in humans

Knight

Mehta

2016

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

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“…Finally, others have shown that testosterone administration in females (17) seems to increase status-seeking behavior, and this finding agrees with correlations between endogenous testosterone levels and status-related behaviors shown in men (for a review, see ref. 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).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 65%

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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“…According to the literature, these are the individuals who should benefit most from gains in power and status (Josephs et al, 2006;Mehta, Wuehrmann, & Josephs, 2009;Zyphur et al, 2009) and thus should experience the greatest reduction in stress.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The interaction of testosterone and cortisol is associated with attained status in male executives.

Sherman¹,

Lerner²,

Josephs³

et al. 2016

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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122

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Are hormone levels associated with the attainment of social status? Although endogenous testosterone predicts status-seeking social behaviors, research suggests that the stress hormone cortisol may inhibit testosterone’s effects. Thus, individuals with both high testosterone and low cortisol may be especially likely to occupy high-status positions in social hierarchies while individuals with high testosterone and high cortisol may not. We tested this hypothesis by recruiting a sample of real executives and examining testosterone, cortisol, and a concrete indicator of attained status: the number of subordinates over which the executive has authority. Despite the myriad nonhormonal factors that determine organizational promotion, the executives’ endogenous testosterone and cortisol interacted to significantly predict hierarchical position: Testosterone positively predicted executives’ number of subordinates, but only among low-cortisol executives. The results imply that reducing cortisol levels via stress reduction may be a critical goal not only because doing so will improve health but also because doing so may enhance leadership potential.

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The mismatch effect: When testosterone and status are at odds.

Cited by 220 publications

References 58 publications

Hierarchy stability moderates the effect of status on stress and performance in humans

Hierarchy stability moderates the effect of status on stress and performance in humans

Testosterone decreases trust in socially naïve humans

The interaction of testosterone and cortisol is associated with attained status in male executives.

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