Unethical behavior in men found to be associated with testosterone levels
Young men with high testosterone levels are more likely to engage in unethical behavior in situations of intrasexual competition, according to a new study.
Situations in which same-sex creatures (usually males) fight each other to obtain the opposite sex in nature are called intrasexual competition.
Canadian researchers have proven through experiments in humans that some males in this kind of competition are more prone to behaviors that are not approved by society.
Moreover, the findings revealed that these people had higher testosterone levels.
New research: High testosterone levels don’t make men more successful
The research team from the HEC University of Montréal conducted experiments on 83 men and 91 women. Hormone levels were measured through saliva samples of the participants.
Then the participants answered questions about how they felt and behaved when they liked someone that others were trying to relate to.
These questions were followed by another survey in which only ethical and unethical behaviors were evaluated. The survey included topics such as “making some questionable deductions on income tax returns” or “having an affair with a married man/woman”. Thus, the general tendency of the participants towards unethical behaviors was also measured.
Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno, co-author of the study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal British Journal of Psychology, explained their final conclusion as follows:
Men with high testosterone are more likely to act unethically in the scenario of intrasexual competition.
On the other hand, it was understood that the testosterone level in women did not affect such behaviors.
“Women with high testosterone levels do not act more unethically when they compete against other women to attract men,” Nepomuceno said.
According to the research team, the findings reveal that research on unethical behavior often overlooks physiological variables such as hormones.
“There is research showing that testosterone is directly related to numerous behaviors, including consumption,” says Nepomuceno.
I believe future research should focus on contextual factors and personality factors that may interact with testosterone and influence behavior.
Independent, Psypost, Futurism
