Ronay and von Hippel (2010)

Title

the presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone and physical risk-taking in young men

Background

as men are justified as greater risk-takers than women, the study evaluated this statement as a source of evolutionary pressure to compete with each other for access to females and sexual selection in general. while testosterone is a hormone that fuels competition, sexual interest, assertiveness, competitiveness, and dominance, the study also assessed its influence on male behavior

Aim

to investigate the hypothesis that physical risk-taking by young men increases in the presence of an attractive female; and that increased risk-taking in the presence of an attractive woman might be induced by elevated testosterone

Participants

96 young adult male skateboarders recruited in skateboard parks in Australia

mean age of 21.58

Procedure

43 participants were assigned to a male experimenter condition and 53 were assigned to a female experimenter condition. testing was conducted between 2:00pm and 6:00pm to control for variation in testosterone concentrations.

skateboarders were asked to chose one easy trick and one difficult trick they had not yet mastered which they attempted 10 times each while being video-taped by the male or female experimenter (blind to the hypothesis).

attractiveness of the female was established by 20 independent male raters.

saliva samples were collected at the conclusion of the experiment to monitor testosterone levels.

Results

participants took greater risks on the difficult tricks in the presence of the female experimenter. as predicted, testosterone levels were significantly higher among men who skateboarded in front of the female experimenter. the analysis suggests that increased risk-taking in front of the female experimenter was partially mediated by increased testosterone levels

Conclusion

young men take greater physical risks when in the presence of an attractive woman and that increases in circulating testosterone partially explain this effect.

researchers also suggest that the prefrontal cortex, specifically the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) might play an intermediary role in these processes since the area is involved in decision making under risk.

higher levels of testosterone might impair the functioning of the VMPFC, leading to higher risk-taking behavior which may hay an evolutionary origin to attract a beautiful mate.

Method

field experiment

IV: presence of male or female experimenter

DV: changing levels of testosterone in response to risk-taking

Critical thinking: methodological considerations

strengths:

- high ecological validity (participants in their own environment)

- lower bias

- no demand characteristics (behavior not altered in response to hypothesised aim)

limitations:

- difficult to record data

- lower internal validity

- lack of control --> low reliability

- difficult to replicate

Critical thinking: alternative explanations

given that the participants were video-taped, they may have felt more pressure than they would if they were just observed.

as the sexuality of the skateboarders was not taken into account, the increased risk-taking may have been influenced by external factors and confounding variables

Critical thinking: gender considerations

even though testosterone is 10 times more prominent in males, the lack of female participants in the experiment makes the study gender biased as the same factors were not evaluated on women

Critical thinking: ethical considerations

the study was mostly unethical:

the participants did not receive informed consent and they were also deceived.

as the study was filmed and published, the skaters' identities did not remain confidential but they were debriefed at the end of the experiment.

since were encouraged to complete difficult tricks on their skateboards, they were not protected from harm.

Critical thinking: cultural considerations

the study was culturally biased because the participants were recruited from skateboard parks in Australia (their ethnic/cultural background was not revealed)

Critical thinking: applications

enables researchers to evaluate the relationship between testosterone and risk-taking.

explains the inherent bad decision making that classifies male behavior.

How does this study demonstrate the effect of hormones on human behavior?

as increased testosterone levels were measured at the end of the experiment, it can be concluded that testosterone influences risk-taking, dominance, and competition (aggressive behaviors)