Testosterone Does Not Increase Aggression - The Myth
Testosterone Does Not Increase Aggression - The Myth
In contrary to popular belief that has been circulated by Hollywood or mainstream media's pop psychology, testosterone does not increase aggression. This effect may be true when it comes to animals, but when it comes to humans, increase in testosterone level, actually, decreases aggression. This myth has been contradicted in recent studies with placebo - the false cultural belief about testosterone is so strong that people who were given fake testosterone pills started behaving aggressively and egocentricaly, while those who were actually given testosterone started acting more friendly and considerately towards the others.
Testosterone, that exists both in men and women, is responsible for many important physical characteristics such as muscle growth or bone density. Right after birth our bodies produce very large amounts of testosterone which progressively decreases to very tiny level by four to six months of age. The levels starts to increase again when we begin our puberty.
Researchers from University of Pisa conducted the study on two groups of people: the Love Group with those who within previous six months had been romantically infatuated with someone, and the Control Group with those who were single or in long-term relationship. They found out that testosterone levels between males in Love Group were lower than in Control Group, while women in Love Group had higher levels than those in Control Group. The result highlights that, depending on the stage of relationship, the testosterone levels between sexes appeared to balance each other. This discovery suggests that these differences help in finding emotional stability between the partners.
References:
"Hormonal changes when falling in love.", University of Pisa 2016.
"Testosterone does not induce aggression.", University of Zurich, 2009.
"Testosterone deficiency: myth, facts, and controversy.", Collaboration, 2001.
"Prejudice and truth about the effect of testosterone on human bargaining behaviour", Nature, 2012.
"Strange but True: Testosterone Alone Does Not Cause Violence", Scientific American, 2007.
"Effects of Testosterone on Mood, Aggression, and Sexual Behavior in Young Men: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Study", Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2004.
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That is very interesting. I didn't know this.
👍 :-D
Thanks Brian
Really helpful post...
Thanks.
ostras que sorpresa me he llevado! saludos amigo.
Gracias, saludos.
Wow, that's really crazy to read this. I honestly need to do a bit of research about that myself, because my first inclination is honestly to not believe it. I guess the cultural stereotype is pretty strongly engrained in me too!
Hah ok, well it was surprising for me too.
Learning never stops... thanks! :)
Anyway... I think aggression comes mostly from low self-esteem, stupidity and alcohol.
Testosterone is for growing beards. :D
Hey, thanks for the comment.
Aggression is a behaviour that appears to be conditioned by the environment (as any behaviour) with some possible minor genetic predispositions :-)
Gender certainly is one of those predispositions. Women can also be aggressive... oh believe me, I know one or two... but men have to prove their strength and hardness from school to job and in the streets. They want to lead the herd. And this is also encouraged by media and entertainment. That's the way it is... hope it won't be forever. Maybe evolution will to it's thing. :D
It is not gender. Gender is a social construct. I think that you meant sex.
Yes, both sexes have different hormonal physiology that is predetermined by genetics (it is mentioned in the article).
Intensity of aggressive behaviour is largely conditioned by the environment. Certain cultures are more aggressive than others (some not at all) due to many environmental factors such as value system, tradition, scarcity of resources, state of healthcare, economic class, psychologically unsustainable upbringing/childcare, etc.
Once you understand, root causes of aggressive behaviour within social environment, and how to eradicate them, you can design society that is almost completely void of aggressive behaviour (almost because there some genetically determined cognitive disorders that are random and not shaped by environment).
Gender and sex really have different meanings? Didn't know that... in German there is only the word "Geschlecht" which translates to gender and sex. Thank you for clarifying this! :)
No problem mr :-)
Check that up
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_distinction
Read somewhere girls become women after puberty. Men, have to prove we are men over and over again.. thought that was Interresting! There are studys n that..
That picture of wolverine tells me otherwise...
It is selected on purpose to contradict the bias.
I suppose it would make sense that lower t causes agression due to the feelings of frustration and low well being experienced.
That is possible.
I read recently that testosterone increases in people who are exposed to aggression, that in relation to aggresion testosterone is an enabler, but not a pure cause.
In monkeys there is often a strict heirarchy, so if you take 5 monkeys that dont know each other and put them in a cage, they will fight until the heirarchy is sorted 1-5, those with the higher testosterone levels being at the top, those with the lower testosterone levels being at the bottom. But if you take monkey 3 (who is in the middle of the group) and inject him with massive amounts of testosterone and put him back with the other 4, he doesnt attack monkeys 1 & 2 who are higher than him, he mercilessly beats monkeys 4 & 5 who are lower than him.
We aim our aggression at those who we feel it is acceptable to put it onto; those who we see as lower than ourselves. This means testosterone does not make us aggressive beyond control, we decide who gets hurt.
Hey.
It is valid example with some apes but humans are much different than other apes. Our social behaviour is much more complex. We are also capable of abstract thinking and have ability to be aware and take control over our emotions.
Yes, I have read the testosterone increase is rather response to hostile environment (to stress, aggression) rather than cause of aggression.
Check that up if you have time.
That is amazing...Thanks for sharing this useful piece of Research...upvoted
👍
Interesting article and thank you for putting the sources in as well!
It seems intuitive, that through spending time with the other, people assimilate. Not only in their hormone levels, but also in behaviour, speech, taste...
Pick your friends and partners wisely, guys (and gals)
Thanks for comment.
You are right. We should chose wisely as hormonal balancing may not work much with someone who we are not attracted to as much or get attached, in the first place. Even if we "force" ourselves to relationship.