Testosterone and Social Interactions - Essay Example

Testosterone and Social Interactions Testosterone and Social Interactions Testosterone is a powerful hormone which has a direct impact on human behavior. According to Eisenegger, Haushofer & Fehr (2011), the link between testosterone and social behavior was established not so long ago, and most studies involved animals to test their hypotheses. The study of testosterone influence on human behavior is new; scientists are challenged to confirm the results found in animal samples in human behavior. This paper will focus on findings of existing studies of testosterone role in social interactions with the purpose to identify possible topics for further research. To start with, testosterone is a hormone which is produced in both males and females. It influences secondary sexual attributes development in people, which is proved by numerous studies. What is most important for current research is socio-emotional impact of testosterone on human behavior (Roberts, 2011). This hormone is involved in fear experiences, aggression, search for a couple and fight for power and status. All these things are vital for human behavior as they are involved in social interactions which become the basis for any community. Multiple functions of testosterone attract many researchers who want to examine this issue in depth. Human social interaction are characterized by complexity which is not common in behavior of non-human animals. According to Booth et al. (2011), testosterone is often associated with male behavior. However, the study suggests that stereotypical interpretation of testosterone influence results in its simplistic perception. Current research lacks evidence to support the common assumptions that boasting, cursing or violence are caused by a sole influence of testosterone. In this way, researchers Testosterone and behavior become linked in certain social context where it is performed. The production of this hormone is more than cause and effect issue; it works in both directions where testosterone production often becomes the cause of certain behaviors, and it can be produced as a result of social interactions. For instance, stress stimulates increase in testosterone production. Testosterone is directly linked to aggressive behavior. In some animal species testosterone results in openly aggressive behavior which takes place every day; it is more common in predators. The effects of testosterone on human organism differs from its role in animal behavior and results in dominance which might include some elements of aggression in social sphere. Dominant behavior with or without intent to harm someone physically do not show any differences in testosterone levels in people. The link between testosterone and aggression and delinquent behavior is not clearly stated even though the studies to explore this link were repetitive. The levels of testosterone were a bit higher in the sample which displayed delinquent behavior, but the difference in hormone quantity were not statistically significant. According to Carré & Mehta (2011), testosterone can react with other steroid hormones which intensify its effect. For instance, high levels of testosterone can react with cortisol and result in proneness to political aggression or general aggressive behavior. According to Ronay & von Hippel (2010), state that testosterone influences human need in power and status. People with higher levels of testosterone tend to be more ambitious in what they do. However, they are more afraid of failure because it can damage their social status. In is the reason why testosterone motivates people to be more risk-taking when they compete with people who are less powerful. At the same time, fair competition involved less risk-taking actions. In this way, testosterone influences peoples behavior and perception of each other. They assess their own power and status and compare them with other people. Carré & Mehta (2011) note that cortisol can influence the need in power and status as well. People with high testosterone levels which interacted with cortisol are more likely to be ambitious and perform the role of dominating leader in the group. The study by Mazur & Booth (1998) focuses on dominance in men, stating that there is no single form in which dominance can be expressed. In many cases when researches expect ed dominance to be intentionally harmful for other people, it was shaped in nonaggression forms. Testosterone appears as a response to stress of threat to ones authority However, if can also be the cause of behavior people perform. The levels of testosterone in men increase after they win the competition and decline when they lose. This situation only proves that this hormone is not physiological only; it has great and obvious correlation woth social situations where people act. The study conducted by Mehta et al. (2008) comes to the conclusion that testosterone can influence peoples participation in different activities which involve competitive elements. Men with high levels of testosterone tend to participate in the competition again if they have winning experience. On the contrary, if they lose, they will avoid further participation in the same activity. It happens because every failure damages their power status and public image. Similar effect of testosterone is observed in higher species of primates. However, human dominance is ore complex due to advanced communication and social norms. The studies reviewed by Mehta et l. (2008) examine how low testosterone men react at people with higher status. They perform negative reactions due to their physiological characteristics like pulse and blood tension. Their reaction to people with lower power status is neutral in most cases. This example shows how testosterone influences perception of each other in a group. Liening & Josephs (2010) develop the study by Meht et al. (2008) further showing tht not only basal cortisol is involved in effect which is associated with testosterone production. As the result of their study, they prove that testosterone is controlled by cortisol in reaction to threat. Such hormones as vasopressin and serotonin also take part in transporting and controlling testosterone effects on human organism. Different social situation trigger different hormonal reaction where testosterone is involved. However, in many ways the final outcome depends of the participation of each hormone in reactions. Rowe et al. (2004) also show that testosterone influences can be balanced by society. Norms of behavior, education and social integration result in less common aggressive behavior. People who are well included in their community tend to be less influenced by this hormone. On the contrary, people who feel excluded tend to be more aggressive. The application of this findings to deviance assessment and perdition techniques shows that peer dominance and competition between teens motivate many behaviors in their group. Socialization with deviant peers results in the perception of deviant behavior as a sign of power of the way to achieve dominance in the group. For instance, high levels of testosterone are observed in puberty as signs of maturation. It is clear that high levels of these hormone change not only body; they influence behavior of teens making them more aggressive and prone to antisocial behavior (Rowe et al., 2004). Testosterone does not always result in physical aggression; on the contrary, nonviolent antisocial forms of behavior such as vandalism appear more frequently in youth under the influence of testosterone. Roberts (2011) advocates testosterone showing that this hormone does not produce bad influences only. The abundance of studies which examine testosterone effects on antisocial behavior create an impression that it has the same effect in all possible circumstances. However, Roberts (2011) notes that in certain conditions which do not involve dominance competition, testosterone can motivate different positive and pro-social behavior. Such professions as law enforcement officers or fire fighters stimulate higher levels of testosterone by constant exposure to risks. Moreover, they have protective roles in their communities and, in this way, they find a different way to express their high testosterone levels in their behavior. In this way, testosterone is not the cause of social aggression; it has more complex influence on human behavior as it depends on social situations. Testosterone influences love relationships as well. It stimulates competition in men in their partner seeking competition. According to Rowe et al. (2004), people who cheat have higher levels of testosterone. Married men have declined levels of testosterone because they do not have to compete for their partner and they feel secure. Married men who cheat on their spouses have levels of testosterone which correspond to single men. Even a though about cheating results in higher testosterone levels. At the same time, men are more motivated to impress women and be more engaged in dating when their levels of testosterone are high. Their desire to dominate in love relationships also depends on testosterone. Eisenegger, Haushofer & Fehr (2011) show that people are very similar to animals in their love life. For instance, men who feel the scent of ovulating women immediately synthesize more testosterone. The same situation does not happen when they are exposed to usual female scent. Carré, McCormick & Hariri (2011) show that the same boost of testosterone takes place when men communicate with women they find physically attractive. Rowe et al. (2004) states that the studies of testosterone turn out to be more complex than people expected them to be. Even after many years of marriage testosterone levels become higher again when people experienced divorce. It proves that any threat or possible competition stimulates testosterone production to help people survive challenging periods of their lives. It is notable that most testosterone studies involve only men in their samples. The research of testosterone in women is less frequent in scientific literature. According to Eisenegger, Haushofer & Fehr (2011), testosterone in women is synthesized in ovaries. Together with basal cortisol, it has direct effect on female behavior in stressful situations. The study by Denson, Mehta & Ho Tan (2013) reveals that females with high levels of basal cortisol and testosterone are more aggressive and dominant reacting on personal offense. Women with low levels of basal cortisol and testosterone are more submissive when it comes to stress and dominance. There are many things which are still remain obscure for scientists. According to Carré, McCormick & Hariri (2011), the role of testosterone and gender behavior has not been studied properly. Due to the fact that hormonal measures are costly, most studies have limited samples which involve people with unexpectedly high levels of testosterone. Not many studies cover the differences in testosterone role in women ad men to compare them properly. The information available on this issue consists of fragments of different studies; however, it is not enough to come to some definite conclusion in this case. Positive impact of testosterone on human behavior is also not covered in the studies. They focus on aggression, power and dominance disregarding other important elements of human social interaction. Summing up, the importance of testosterone is obvious for peoples social life. At the same time, there are many issues related to testosterone role in human communication which are not studies in detail due to the complexity of social interactions. While people have covered to topics related to power and dominance, gender performance and differences between testosterone reactions in males in females in comparison have not been studies in detail. Moreover, current studies focus of interactions of several hormones in response to social situations. All in all, further research of testosterone promises to bring new insights on human communication. References Booth, A., Granger, D. A., Mazur, A., & Kivlighan, K. T. (2006). Testosterone and social behavior. Social Forces, 85(1), 167-191. Carré, J. M., & Mehta, P. H. (2011). Importance of considering testosterone–cortisol interactions in predicting human aggression and dominance. Aggressive behavior, 37(6), 489-491. Carré, J. M., McCormick, C. M., & Hariri, A. R. (2011). The social neuroendocrinology of human aggression. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(7), 935-944. Denson, T. F., Mehta, P. H., & Ho Tan, D. (2013). Endogenous testosterone and cortisol jointly influence reactive aggression in women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(3), 416-424. Eisenegger, C., Haushofer, J., & Fehr, E. (2011). The role of testosterone in social interaction. Trends in cognitive sciences, 15(6), 263-271. Liening, S. H., & Josephs, R. A. (2010). It is not just about testosterone: physiological mediators and moderators of testosterone’s behavioral effects. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(11), 982-994. Mazur, A., & Booth, A. (1998). Testosterone and dominance in men. Behavioral and brain sciences, 21(03), 353-363. Mehta, P. H., Jones, A. C., & Josephs, R. A. (2008). The social endocrinology of dominance: basal testosterone predicts cortisol changes and behavior following victory and defeat. Journal of personality and social psychology, 94(6), 1078. Roberts, A. (2011). Testosterone as a prosocial hormone. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Ronay, R., & von Hippel, W. (2010). Power, testosterone, and risk‐taking.Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 23(5), 473-482. Rowe, R., Maughan, B., Worthman, C. M., Costello, E. J., & Angold, A. (2004). Testosterone, antisocial behavior, and social dominance in boys: pubertal development and biosocial interaction. Biological Psychiatry, 55(5), 546-552. Read More