A high hormone level promotes impulsive problem solving, prevents critical reflection and suppresses the self-doubt
A high testosterone level leads to greater self-confidence.
Pasadena (USA) - Testosterone stimulates not only male sexual functions, aggressive behavior and ambition. The hormone also affects certain mental processes and influences decision-making processes. For example, the results of an American study show that after a single testosterone treatment, men are able to resolve prescription drugs rather quickly and impulsively, with a higher error rate than the placebo group. Apparently, the increased hormone level ensures that a spontaneous decision is no longer questioned. Thus, the increased release of testosterone in critical situations strengthens self-confidence and thus the conviction to have decided and acted correctly, the researchers report in the journal "Psychological Science".
"Either testosterone inhibits the process of re-thinking a decision, or it strengthens the patient's gut feeling," says Colin Camerer of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, a member of the research team. In general, two forms of information processing play a role in decision-making processes: responses due to the feeling of the abdomen are quick and effortless, but are often faulty. On the other hand, tedious thinking requires more time, but it is more likely to produce correct results. Often, a decision is initially intuitive, but it is then rethought and possibly corrected. This correction function of the thought process can possibly be suppressed by a high testosterone level.
In the largest double blind study of this type, 243 mostly young men participated. One half rubbed the upper body with ten grams of a gel containing one percent testosterone. Hormone tests in saliva samples before and after the study showed increased testosterone levels. The control group used a similar gel without active ingredient. Four and a half hours after treatment the participants answered questions of the so-called "cognitive reflection test", which suggest an intuitively wrong answer, for example: "A bat and a ball cost 1.10 dollars together. The racket costs a dollar more than the ball. What does the ball cost? "The spontaneous response of most is $ 0.10, but it's $ 0.05. There was no time limit for solving the tasks. Each correct answer was rewarded at the end by cash. In order to take account of influencing factors such as motivation and mathematical abilities, all participants also had to add large numbers under time pressure.
With 20 percent less correct responses, the testosterone-treated patients achieved a significantly worse result in the cognitive reflection test than the members of the placebo group. When adding, both groups cut off equally well. It is obvious to see a meaningful biological adaptation in that rapid intuitive decisions are preferred under the influence of an increased testosterone level. What neurological processes are taking place is not yet clear. However, there are receptors for testosterone in the prefrontal cortex. The hormone could therefore dock on it and thus change brain activities, which influence the behavior. The new results should also be taken into account when elderly men with severely reduced testosterone levels receive hormonal therapy, says Camerer. As a possible side effect, an influence on decision-making processes in these patients could not be ruled out.