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Excess testosterone causes aggressive and antisocial behavior
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Testosterone makes us overestimate our own opinions and disregard the opinions of other members of the community.
When faced with a problem, we can solve it ourselves, or we can consult with someone or ask for help. Both paths have their pros and cons: the collective mind is more powerful than the efforts of an individual, but at the same time, a collective error is extremely difficult to notice and resist; your own strength may simply not be enough, although you will undoubtedly retain your individuality. The decision to act individually or collectively is influenced by many factors, and hormones play a significant role in this.
It is known that we can be induced to act collectively by an increase in oxytocin levels. An article appeared in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which states the exact opposite about testosterone. A group of researchers from University College London conducted an experiment in which 17 pairs of women took such a test. Two pictures appeared on the screen in front of them at the same time: one contained an encrypted image that they had to find. The participants in the experiment did not know each other, each sat in front of her own screen. If the picture was guessed correctly, the subjects moved on to the next pair of images.
If someone could not cope immediately, they were offered to ask their partner for help. Together they could discuss the task and come to the right decision. In this case, the participants were given a dose of testosterone or a placebo. It turned out that joint discussion increased the chance of completing the task correctly, but only if the women were given a "dummy" placebo. Testosterone worked to disengage, and joint discussion only helped to a very small extent in solving the problem. After mutual consultations, the participants in the experiment still made the choice they considered correct, and not the one suggested by their partner.
Excess testosterone is expressed in aggressive, antisocial behavior, and the fact that in decision-making it inclines us to egocentrism and overestimation of our own opinions fits into the general “portrait” of this hormone.
It may seem that in this regard, men have it the hardest: their testosterone levels are naturally elevated, they have to make almost constant efforts not to fall out of the group, and what happens to them when the hormone level increases? But with men, according to scientists, things are not so simple: precisely because of the high background level of testosterone, its additional doses act as synthesis suppressors, so that the initial increase in its concentration leads to a subsequent rapid decrease. Therefore, women, not men, were selected for the experiment: in them, the additional dose of the hormone simply increased its overall level and allowed the effect of "decollectivization" to be observed.
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