Testosterone promotes either dominance or submissiveness in the Ultimatum Game depending on players’ social rank

Inoue, Yukako; Takahashi, Takehiro; Burriss, Robert P.; Arai, Seiichi; Hasegawa, Toshikazu; Yamagishi, Toshio; Kiyonari, Toko

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05603-7

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Testosterone can also enhance prosocial behaviours if these promote increasing social status [47]. In addition, increased testosterone enhances dominant behaviour in men with high social status but causes strategic submission in socially lower-ranked individuals [48]. A similar effect in the placebo-treated AWD packs in this study could explain the tendency for subdominants to show higher active submission, while also showing higher testosterone levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Dog appeasing pheromone prevents the androgen surge and may reduce contact dominance and active submission after stressful interventions in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)

et al. 2019

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The endangered African wild dog (AWD; Lycaon pictus ) is a highly social canid living in packs with a separate male and female hierarchy. Immobilisation, handling and translocations are acute stressors for AWDs, however such interventions are often needed for species management. In addition, new pack formation or temporary pack separation can lead to an increase in intra-pack aggression. The goal of this double-blinded placebo-controlled study conducted in captive zoo populations was to evaluate whether dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) reduces behavioural stress and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels (fGCM) normally associated with pack separation, immobilisation and reintroduction (SIR), and to assess whether this reduces aggressive behaviours and faecal androgen metabolite levels (fAM). Four packs (n = 11 males) were treated with DAP and 4 packs (n = 12 males) were treated with a placebo solution, applied at the end of anaesthesia. Behavioural interactions as well as fGCM and fAM were determined from 3 days before until 4–6 days after SIR. No effect of DAP on fGCM was observed, however, fAM increased after SIR in placebo but not DAP treated animals. Moreover, on the day of reintroduction, DAP treated packs tended to have lower rates of contact-dominance and active-submission behaviour, but higher rates of non-contact dominance behaviour. As these effects could decrease the risk of agonistic interactions, DAP may be a useful tool to help manage new pack formations and temporary pack separation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Dog appeasing pheromone prevents the androgen surge and may reduce contact dominance and active submission after stressful interventions in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)

et al. 2019

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“…For example, higher levels of testosterone in both men and women have been associated with enhanced social status (Rowe et al, 2004;Sellers, 2006) or increased spatial cognitive skills when status is at play (Newman et al, 2005). Other behavioral results in men and women have also emphasized the relationship between testosterone levels and social cooperation (Casto and Edwards, 2016;Sanchez-Pages and Turiegano, 2010) or the choice of an interaction strategy (domination vs. submission) in a social context (Inoue et al, 2017;van Honk et al, 2014). In addition to these correlational evidence, recent behavioral studies tested to what extent testosterone administration plays a causal role during social interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endogenous testosterone is associated with increased striatal response to audience effects during prosocial choices

Météreau

Obeso

et al. 2020

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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The role of testosterone on cognitive functions in humans remains controversial. One recent hypothesis suggests that this steroid hormone advances social status. As being observed by others is known to modulate a range of behaviors because of image concerns, we hypothesized that such an audience effect might be an important component of status seeking that is under the control of testosterone. Thus, we investigated to which extent testosterone levels are associated with the effect of being observed during prosocial choices and the neural mechanisms underlying this effect. We enrolled twenty-four male participants, aged 22.47±2.62 years, in an fMRI experiment to examine the relationship between testosterone levels and brain activity engaged in deciding whether to accept or reject monetary transfers to two types of organizations (a positively evaluated organization and a negatively evaluated organization) in presence or absence of an audience. When comparing the public to the private condition, the rate of acceptance increased for the positively evaluated organization, while the rate of rejection increased for the negatively evaluated one. Higher testosterone levels were linked to greater activation in the striatum in the public compared to the private condition, regardless of the organization type. These results indicate a relationship between testosterone levels and striatal activity induced by the audience effect. These findings provide new insights on the role of testosterone in human social behavior.

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“…junior) rugby players, whereas the relationship was negative in high-status (i.e. senior) players 34 [23]. Similarly, men with relatively higher testosterone concentrations punished unfair offers more 35 severely, but rewarded fair offers more generously [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low competitive status elicits aggression in healthy young men: behavioral and neural evidence

Buades-Rotger

Göttlich

Weiblen

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Winners are commonly assumed to compete more aggressively than losers. Here, we find overwhelming evidence for the opposite. We first demonstrate that low-ranking teams commit more fouls than they receive in top-tier soccer, ice hockey, and basketball leagues. We replicate this effect in the laboratory, showing that participants deliver louder sound blasts to a rival when placed in a low-status position. Using neuroimaging, we characterize brain activity patterns that encode competitive status as well as those that facilitate status-dependent aggression. These analyses reveal three key findings. First, anterior hippocampus and striatum contain multivariate representations of competitive status. Second, interindividual differences in status-dependent aggression are linked with a sharper status differentiation in the striatum and with greater reactivity to status-enhancing victories in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex.Third, activity in ventromedial, ventrolateral, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is associated with trial-wise increases in status-dependent aggressive behavior. Taken together, our results run counter to narratives glorifying aggression in competitive situations. Rather, we show that those in the lower ranks of skill-based hierarchies are more likely to behave aggressively and identify the potential neural basis of this phenomenon.

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Testosterone promotes either dominance or submissiveness in the Ultimatum Game depending on players’ social rank

Cited by 18 publications

References 33 publications

Dog appeasing pheromone prevents the androgen surge and may reduce contact dominance and active submission after stressful interventions in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)

Dog appeasing pheromone prevents the androgen surge and may reduce contact dominance and active submission after stressful interventions in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)

Endogenous testosterone is associated with increased striatal response to audience effects during prosocial choices

Low competitive status elicits aggression in healthy young men: behavioral and neural evidence

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