Women Act Nicer Overall If Given Testosterone

Over recent decades, the hormone testosterone has been associated with a host of negative, typically-male behavior, not the last of which was excessive aggression. While it may be true that, in men, the hormone might be related to this sort of behavior, a new study seems to suggest that this is not necessarily the case throughout our species. In a series of lab bargaining games, women that were administered the hormone proved to be more cooperative, and also to act nicer overall than other females who were not given the substance, LiveScience reports.

But the research also uncovered a very strange fact. It would appear that the popular perception of testosterone (preconceived notions that the women in the study had) changed the way in which the stuff influenced their behavior. Not all of the test participants were given the hormone, but those who thought they had received it tended to act less fair towards other players. The researchers analyzed the behavior of test subjects who had been given a placebo, and determined that it was their perception of the hormone that drove this kind of behavior. In other situations, these women may have been more cooperative and fair, the team says.

“In certain environments, [such as prisons], it might be advantageous to be rather anti-social or even aggressive to maintain your status position. And in other environments, maybe more peaceful environments, it perhaps rather pays off to be friendly rather than aggressive in terms of your status position,” says University of Zurich professor Christoph Eisenegger, who was the author of the new study. Details of the work appear in the January 21 issue of the esteemed scientific publication Nature. What testosterone appears to promote, however, is what is known as status-seeking behavior, which influences how someone – man or woman – goes about maintaining their social position in a group.

The research group also believes that there may be some practical applications for their finding, especially in men who undergo surgery. They believe that administering the hormone could make them more aggressive, which would in turn stifle their chances at a quick recovery. The team says that more work is needed before any new therapies are devised. “By correcting the reputation of the hormone, we might also help some of the clinical populations,” Eisenegger concludes.