Citation

Pfattheicher S. Aggressive Behav. 2016; 43(1): 85-92.

Affiliation

Ulm University, Abteilung Sozialpsychologie, Ulm, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ab.21665

PMID

27407048

Abstract

The dual-hormone hypothesis suggests that testosterone is positively associated with status-seeking tendencies such as aggression and dominance, particularly in individuals with low levels of cortisol. Although recent research supports the dual-hormone hypothesis, its boundary conditions under which the dual-hormone interaction is likely to emerge are not clearly understood. In the present study (N = 153), the dual-hormone hypothesis was empirically tested in the context of an economic game that included a decision whether to dominate another individual. We also examined whether the dual-hormone interaction is more likely to be found in individuals who are chronically prone to dominance tendencies.

RESULTS revealed a significant testosterone × cortisol interaction in line with the dual-hormone hypothesis. Additionally, the testosterone × cortisol interaction was only significant in individuals with a high level of chronic dominance. Overall, the present work suggests that chronic personality tendencies should be taken into account in order to explore (the boundary conditions) of hormone-behavior associations. Aggr. Behav. 9999:1-8, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en