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Testosterone: Difference between revisions
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→T and social dominance
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In many animals, testosterone has a positive relationship to [[dominance hierarchy|male dominance status]].<ref>https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.20387</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X0800161X</ref> | In many animals, testosterone has a positive relationship to [[dominance hierarchy|male dominance status]].<ref>https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.20387</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X0800161X</ref> | ||
In humans the link between testosterone and male dominance status is more tenuous, with several studies finding no link between T levels and achieved social rank,<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453016301780</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886910001406</ref> though it does seem to be linked with dominant behavior and heightened attentiveness to social cues pertaining to dominance rank to some degree.<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-014-0020-2#Sec3</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364661311000787</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X20301975</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X16305050</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453016304292</ref> | In humans the link between testosterone and male dominance status is more tenuous, with several studies finding no link between T levels and achieved social rank,<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453016301780</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886910001406</ref> though it does seem to be linked with dominant behavior and heightened attentiveness to social cues pertaining to dominance rank to some degree.<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-014-0020-2#Sec3</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364661311000787</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X20301975</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X16305050</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453016304292</ref> | ||
These null results are likely due to many contextual factors such as respective culture/ethnicity,<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Behave-Biology-Humans-Best-Worst/dp/1594205078</ref> age of the male,<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X14002250</ref> and the male's own level of social status<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453019312934</ref> | These null results are likely due to many contextual factors such as respective culture/ethnicity,<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Behave-Biology-Humans-Best-Worst/dp/1594205078</ref> age of the male,<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X14002250</ref> and the male's own level of social status<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453019312934</ref> that serve to moderate the influence of testosterone in driving such behavior. | ||
T levels may be more strongly related to the attainment of dominance in social milieus based around violent domination as opposed to ones based around social consensus, competence, and likability.<ref>https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19485565.2006.9989114</ref> | T levels may be more strongly related to the attainment of dominance in social milieus based around violent domination as opposed to ones based around social consensus, competence, and likability.<ref>https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19485565.2006.9989114</ref> | ||
Together with the general [[feminization]] of post-industrial Western society, this may result in [[evolutionary mismatch|evolutionary mismatches]] wherein high levels of masculinity and testosterone-related traits may be generally associated with lower social status. Still, these traits would have been generally rewarded in the more violent and unstable contexts where they were evolutionarily selected. | |||
Some traits that are linked to higher levels of testosterone exposure in the womb, such as systematizing, may also promote the attainment of social status and wealth, leading to higher fitness and reproductive success. It is plausible that a shift from mating systems based around [[arranged marriage]] and female economic dependence on men towards greater female mate choice together with a greater tendency towards hierarchies being based around likability sheer competence in modern service economies has resulted in lowered sexual success for men that are prone towards systematizing, thus leading to yet another potential evolutionary mismatch. | |||
These null findings pertaining to testosterone and actual status attainment (despite testosterone driving competitiveness and social dominance related behaviors) may also imply that the excess possession of certain testosterone-related traits may be ''harmful'' to attain social status in specific social contexts. | These null findings pertaining to testosterone and actual status attainment (despite testosterone driving competitiveness and social dominance related behaviors) may also imply that the excess possession of certain testosterone-related traits may be ''harmful'' to attain social status in specific social contexts. | ||
Some research has indicated that children that have received higher levels of exposure to prenatal androgens had lower quality social relationships and more restricted interests (boys only in this sample) essentially implicating higher neurological masculization in the development of (sub-clinical) autistic traits,<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15679528/</ref> in line with the extreme male brain theory of autism. As even subclinical autistic traits seem to be linked to less social connectedness and loneliness<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-018-3812-6</ref> it therefore likely that exposure to excess levels of testosterone in the prenatal environment is associated with lower social status, less romantic success and other negative social outcomes, suggesting that this trait is subject to significant balancing selection in modern society. | Some research has indicated that children that have received higher levels of exposure to prenatal androgens had lower quality social relationships and more restricted interests (boys only in this sample) essentially implicating higher neurological masculization in the development of (sub-clinical) autistic traits,<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15679528/</ref> in line with the extreme male brain theory of autism. As even subclinical autistic traits seem to be linked to less social connectedness and loneliness<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-018-3812-6</ref> it therefore likely that exposure to excess levels of testosterone in the prenatal environment is associated with lower social status, less romantic success and other negative social outcomes, suggesting that this trait is subject to significant balancing selection in modern society. Some research has indicate that the broader autism phenotype (BAP) may have had certain adaptive qualities that were evolutionarily selected for in the past.<ref>https://www.proquest.com/openview/3b780f7e3a7306b98c528f5dcea7bc46/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750</ref> | ||
They also generally do not take into account the effects that the release of short bursts of T may play in mediating to outcome of dominance contests, though a growing literature on the "challenge hypothesis" of testosterone does. The challenge hypothesis states that testosterone will rise in men in contexts where male intersexual competition is particularly salient, such as male dominance contexts or in the presence of fertile females.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X08002183</ref> | They also generally do not take into account the effects that the release of short bursts of T may play in mediating to outcome of dominance contests, though a growing literature on the "challenge hypothesis" of testosterone does. The challenge hypothesis states that testosterone will rise in men in contexts where male intersexual competition is particularly salient, such as male dominance contexts or in the presence of fertile females.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X08002183</ref> | ||