Testosterone apparently makes men more honest

Testosterone did not cheat men during a study

10/15/2012

The male hormone testosterone is often associated with aggression and power as typical male behaviors. Researchers at the University of Bonn made a completely different experience during a study.

Everybody lies, sometimes even several times a day. The lie is very widespread in social life, in business and politics. Despite the increased interest in the phenomenon, very little is known about the biological basis. Scientists have now investigated possible hormonal influences. It turned out that the steroid hormone testosterone obviously plays an important role in social behavior.

Hormone made men more honest in the game
According to a study by Bonn scientists make the additional hormone dose testosterone male subjects on average „honest“. As a result, increased testosterone levels led participants to cheat much less frequently in a dice game than those who took a placebo. „Our results show that testosterone administration significantly reduces male lies“, the study authors write in their report.

A total of 91 men of different ages took part in the behavioral study. About half (46) of the subjects were given a hormone preparation with testosterone. The other half received a placebo without drug content as a comparison group. In separate cabins, the participants were instructed to perform a simple dice game. The higher the number of cubes, the more money was promised. „The experiment was designed so that subjects could lie to the computer when entering the result“, It says in the study report in the journal „Plos ONE“. Also, the participants were taught that they need not be afraid to get caught.

In the subsequent evaluation, the researchers were able to use a probability calculator to measure how often the men in the individual test groups had cheated on average. „It showed that the subjects with the higher testosterone levels lied significantly less frequently than the untreated subjects“, summed up Armin Falk, Professor of Economic Research at the University of Bonn. The researchers suspect that the hormone needs „Proud“ and a „develop positive self-image“ increases. „Against this background, apparently a few euros as an incentive not enough to put the self-esteem on the line“, the researcher suspects. „Our findings contribute to the recent debate about the effect of testosterone on prosocial behavior“. Interesting in this context is that another research has shown that selfish behavior in women is promoted by testosterone. (Sb)

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