The presence of a woman increases testosterone in aggressive dominant men

L. van der Meij, A.P. Buunk, J.P. van de Sande, A. Salvador

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

73 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

In line with the challenge hypothesis, this study investigated the effects of the presence of a woman on the testosterone (T) levels of young men. An informal contact with a woman of approximately 5??min resulted in an increase in salivary T among men. These effects occurred particularly in men with an aggressive dominant personality. In addition, higher salivary T levels were related to a more aggressively dominant personality, being sexual inactive for a month or more, and not being involved in a committed, romantic relationship. The most important findings of this study are that the short presence of a woman induces specific hormonal reactions in men, and that these effects are stronger for aggressively dominant men. ?? 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)640-644
Number of pages5
JournalHormones and Behavior
Volume54
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aggressive dominance
  • Challenge hypothesis
  • Mate attraction
  • Sexual experience
  • Testosterone

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