Dominance and prestige as differential predictors of aggression and testosterone levels in men

Salivary markers of aggression - The possible alterations in salivary hormones levels to identify perpetrators of aggression-related violence

Aggression, understood as intentional actions aimed at causing harm, remains in a direct relation with the phenomenon of interpersonal violence, especially its physical form. Creating an objective marker of aggression would be an important tool for preventing, protecting the victims and maintaining control over suspects. There have been attempts to link aggression with shifts in hormone levels, including those that can be measured in saliva, especially testosterone and cortisol. The systematic review aimed to assess changes in salivary hormone levels among perpetrators of violence, with particular emphasis on physical violence, as parameters pointing to perpetrators of violence. Following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 22 studies were included. Most of the papers included in the analysis came from the USA and Europe. Studies typically included adults as well as children, while focusing mainly on men. Among the hormones, salivary testosterone levels were the ones analyzed most frequently. On the basis of the included studies, a meta-analysis was conducted on the relationship between aggressive behavior and the levels of concentration of testosterone and cortisol measured in saliva. Regardless of gender, individuals exhibiting aggressive behavior were proved to have significantly higher testosterone levels and lower cortisol concentrations in saliva measurements. The obtained results indicate the feasibility of using the examined parameters for initial detection of perpetrators of aggression-related violence. However, further research is necessary to more precisely determine the relationship between aggressive behavior and hormonal changes in order to determine the feasibility of using these parameters as an objective marker for early identification of perpetrators.

The role of exogenous testosterone and social environment on the expression of sociosexuality and status-seeking behaviors in young Chilean men

Testosterone plays an important role as a social hormone. Current evidence suggests that testosterone is positively related to sociosexuality increasing the psychological attitudes toward investing in short-term versus long-term mating and promotes status-seeking behaviors both by dominance and prestige. In addition, the social environment may play an important role in the expression of mating effort through changes in sociosexuality and status-seeking behaviors. However, the causal relationships among the mentioned variables are still debated. We employed a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-individual design, in order to test and integrate the proposed causal relationships between testosterone and social environment over short-term and long-term mating orientation and dominant and prestigious status-seeking behaviors in a sample of 95 young Chilean men. We did not find evidence that the administration of exogenous testosterone increased short-term or decreased long-term mating orientation as expected. Moreover, exogenous testosterone did not affect either aggressive or cooperative behavior failing to support the social status hypothesis. We also did not find any relationship between short or long-term mating orientation with status-seeking behaviors. Finally, we found support for the effect of social environment on sociosexual attitudes but not over status-seeking behaviors. Thus, men reported higher levels of short-term mating orientation in the presence of a woman compared to a man and no differences were found for long-term mating orientation. We argue that sociosexuality may be expressed flexibly, but contextual factors such as the presence of women seem more important than changes in testosterone levels.

Testosterone promotes dominance behaviors in the Ultimatum Game after players' status increases

Although testosterone is generally considered to promote dominance behaviors, in humans it fosters behaviors appropriate to achieving and maintaining social status, contingent upon the situation. Recent cross-sectional studies, such as Inoue et al. (Sci Rep 7:5335, 2017), have shown that dominance behaviors induced by testosterone are modulated by high status. Yet, it remains ambiguous whether a rise in social status within real-world social groups reshapes the relationship between testosterone and dominance behavior. To investigate this longitudinal question, we added a second wave to Inoue et al.'s study, collecting further data after an interval of 2 years. Members of a university rugby team that adheres to a rigid hierarchical order rooted in seniority played the Ultimatum Game with teammates and provided saliva for assays of testosterone and cortisol. Our analysis reveals that individuals with higher baseline salivary testosterone levels exhibited more dominance as their position in the hierarchy increased according to their seniority.

Dominance and Prestige as Self-Concept Facets

Two basic strategies can be applied to navigate hierarchies: (a) dominance, which involves the induction of fear, intimidation, or coercion to obtain status, or (b) prestige, which involves using one's skills, knowledge, or expertise to pursue status. In the present research, we refined the original dominance and prestige account and the respective self-report scale and conceptualized and assessed both variables as stable self-concept facets. By doing so, we extended the explanatory power of the model. Four studies (total N = 1,993) showed good psychometric properties for the newly developed dominance and prestige questionnaire (DPQ). Both dominance and prestige showed high temporal stability. In testing associations with 72 personality variables and 14 objective criteria, nomological and criterion validity were supported. For the first time, the concepts were shown to predict friendship satisfaction. Further, in testing a truth and bias model, we found high self-other agreement for both self-concept facets. Thus, self-perceptions of dominance and prestige proved to be stable, valid, accurate, and relevant in contexts beyond leadership. Future research concerning the self-perception of these concepts could test the relevance of dominance and prestige in additional spheres of life (e.g. families, academia).

Articulatory effects on perceptions of men's status and attractiveness

Research on heterosexual mating has demonstrated that acoustic parameters (e.g., pitch) of men's voices influence their attractiveness to women and appearance of status and formidability to other men. However, little is known about how men's tendency to clearly articulate their speech influences these important social perceptions. In the current study, we used a repeated-measures design to investigate how men's articulatory clarity or conformity influenced women's (N = 45) evaluations of men's attractiveness for both short- and long-term relationships, and men's (N = 46) evaluations of physical formidability and prestige. Results largely supported our hypotheses: men who enunciated phonemes more distinctly were more attractive to women for long-term relationships than short-term relationships and were perceived by other men to have higher prestige than physical dominance. These findings suggest that aspects of articulatory behavior that influence perceptions of prestige and long-term mating attractiveness may indicate an early social history characterized by high socioeconomic status, likely owing to crystallization of articulatory patterns during the critical period of language development. These articulatory patterns may also be honest signals of condition or disposition owing to the nature of complex, multicomponent traits, which deserve further empirical attention.

When fertile, women seek status via prestige but not dominance

Biological predictors of human dominance are hotly contested, with far-reaching implications for psychological sex differences and the placement of men and women in the social hierarchy. Most investigations have focused on dominance in men and testosterone, with diminished attention paid to dominance in women and other biological mechanisms. Investigating biological influences on other routes to status attainment popular among women-such as via prestige in addition to dominance-have also been neglected. Here, I examined whether status seeking via prestige and via dominance covaried with fertility probability in a citizen science project spanning 14 countries and 4 world regions. Across 4,179 observations, participants tracked their menstrual cycle characteristics, motivation for prestige and dominance, dominance contest outcomes, and three domains of self-esteem. Self-esteem is predicted by status within a group and helps individuals navigate social hierarchies. Bayesian mixed models controlling for menstruation indicated that the motivation to obtain status via prestige but not dominance peaked when conception was most likely, as did dominance contest losses and two self-esteem domains. Fertility appears to reorient female psychology toward prestige-based strategies to success, enhancing women's desire for social capital through influence and admiration but not through fear, coercion, or intimidation. These insights fundamentally advance the understanding of the biological correlates of status seeking among women. They further suggest that fertility motivates not only mating competition but gaining rank and positive regard in social hierarchies.

Power motivation arousal promotes prosocial behavior in the dictator game depending on social presence

Despite the popular notion that power motivations are associated with aggression and antisocial behavior, this study tested the hypothesis that activating power motivations can promote prosocial behavior. Because previous research has shown that public prosocial behavior is associate with reputation and status, this study examined how making prosocial decisions publicly or privately moderates the relationship between power motivations and prosocial behavior. One hundred and forty participants were randomly assigned to watch 20 min of either The Experiment (power motivation arousal) or a documentary called Beautiful China (control condition). A modified version of the dictator game was used to measure prosocial behavior. Participants were instructed to allocate an amount of money between themselves and a stranger girl in need, in the presence of the experimenter (the experimenter registers donation amount) or in the absence of the experimenter (the donation was put in a closed envelope). The results showed that individuals in the power motivation arousal group increased their help when their reputation was under scrutiny due to the experimenter's presence. In the private condition (experimenter is absent), power motivation is not related to prosocial behavior. The contrasting behavioral reactions resulting from the presence or absence of the experimenter are discussed in terms of reputation gain and competitive altruism.

Two Routes to Status, One Route to Health: Trait Dominance and Prestige Differentially Associate with Self-reported Stress and Health in Two US University Populations

Objective

Social status has been extensively linked to stress and health outcomes. However, two routes by which status can be earned - dominance and prestige - may not uniformly relate to lower stress and better health because of inherent behavioral and stress-exposure differences in these two routes.

Methods

In one exploratory and two preregistered studies, participants (total N = 978) self-reported their trait dominance and prestige and self-reported several stress and health outcomes.

Results

The meta-effects evident across the three studies indicate that higher trait dominance was associated with worse outcomes - higher stress, poorer physical and mental health, poorer behavioral health, poorer life satisfaction, higher negative affect (range of absolute values of non-zero correlations, |r| = [0.074, 0.315], ps < 0.021) - and higher trait prestige was associated with better outcomes - lower stress, better physical and mental health, better behavioral health, better life satisfaction, higher positive and lower negative mood (|r| = [0.134, 0.478], ps < 0.001). These effects remained evident (with few exceptions) after controlling for socioeconomic status, other status-relevant traits, or self-enhancing motives; associations with behavior relevant to the COVID19 pandemic generally were not robust.

Conclusions

This work indicates that evolved traits related to the preferred route by which status is earned likely impact self-reported stress and health outcomes. Future research is necessary to examine physiological and other objective indicators of stress and health in more diverse populations.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40750-022-00199-3.

Fertility predicts self-development-oriented competitiveness in naturally cycling women but not hormonal contraceptive users

Objective

A growing body of research has begun investigating the relationship between hormones and female competitiveness. Many researchers have focused on the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptives. Despite many attempts at understanding hormone-behavior associations, contradictory findings have made it difficult to determine the existence of true effects. The aim of the current research was to use a robust methodological design to investigate the effect of fertility probability on four competitive orientations in naturally cycling women and hormonal contraceptive users.

Methods

Using a longitudinal diary study with over 3,900 observations from 21 countries, we explore the effect of fertility probability on four self-report competitive orientations after controlling for menstruation: self-developmental competition, hyper competitiveness, competition avoidance, and lack of interest toward competition.

Results

Using Bayesian estimation for ordinal mixed models, we found that fertility probability was associated with an increase in self-development competitiveness amongst naturally cycling women but not hormonal contraceptive users. We also found weak evidence that hormonal contraceptive users show reduced interest in competing compared to naturally cycling women. There were no other robust effects of fertility or hormonal contraceptive use.

Conclusions

These results suggest that fertility probability is associated with increased fluctuations in self-development competitive motivation and that hormonal contraceptives interfere with this effect. This research contributes to the growing body of literature suggesting that hormonal contraceptives may influence psychology and behavior by disrupting evolved hormonal mechanisms.

Social hierarchies and social networks in humans

Across species, social hierarchies are often governed by dominance relations. In humans, where there are multiple culturally valued axes of distinction, social hierarchies can take a variety of forms and need not rest on dominance relations. Consequently, humans navigate multiple domains of status, i.e. relative standing. Importantly, while these hierarchies may be constructed from dyadic interactions, they are often more fundamentally guided by subjective peer evaluations and group perceptions. Researchers have typically focused on the distinct elements that shape individuals' relative standing, with some emphasizing individual-level attributes and others outlining emergent macro-level structural outcomes. Here, we synthesize work across the social sciences to suggest that the dynamic interplay between individual-level and meso-level properties of the social networks in which individuals are embedded are crucial for understanding the diverse processes of status differentiation across groups. More specifically, we observe that humans not only navigate multiple social hierarchies at any given time but also simultaneously operate within multiple, overlapping social networks. There are important dynamic feedbacks between social hierarchies and the characteristics of social networks, as the types of social relationships, their structural properties, and the relative position of individuals within them both influence and are influenced by status differentiation. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.

Dominance-Driven Autocratic Political Orientations Predict Political Violence in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) and Non-WEIRD Samples

Given the costs of political violence, scholars have long sought to identify its causes. We examined individual differences related to participation in political violence, emphasizing the central role of political orientations. We hypothesized that individuals with dominance-driven autocratic political orientations are prone to political violence. Multilevel analysis of survey data from 34 African countries (N = 51,587) indicated that autocracy-oriented individuals, compared with democracy-oriented individuals, are considerably more likely to participate in political violence. As a predictor of violence (indexed with attitudinal, intentional, and behavioral measures), autocratic orientation outperformed other variables highlighted in existing research, including socioeconomic status and group-based injustice. Additional analyses of original data from South Africa (N = 2,170), Denmark (N = 1,012), and the United States (N = 1,539) indicated that the link between autocratic orientations and political violence reflects individual differences in the use of dominance to achieve status and that the findings generalize to societies extensively socialized to democratic values.

A Status-Seeking Account of Psychological Entitlement

We propose that people high in entitlement are characterized by motivation to attain status. Five studies (total N = 2,372) support that entitlement promotes motivation to seek status. This motivation, in turn, relates to affective processes when facing upward comparisons and contributes to status attainment. Specifically, entitlement fostered prestige and dominance motivation. These, in turn, predicted greater benign and malicious envy, respectively, when encountering high-status others. The indirect effects occurred when entitlement was measured (Studies 1A and 1B) and manipulated (Studies 2A and 2B). Finally, entitlement related to status attainment, yet not always in line with more entitled people's motivation. Although they ascribed themselves both more prestige and dominance, others ascribed them only more dominance, yet less prestige (Studies 3A, 3B, and 3C). These findings suggest that a status-seeking account offers important insights into the complexities of entitled behavior and its social consequences.

Social group dynamics predict stress variability among children in a New Zealand classroom

Previous research proposes stress as a mechanism for linking social environments and biological bodies. In particular, non-human primate studies investigate relationships between cortisol as a measure of stress response and social hierarchies. Because human social structures often include hierarchies of dominance and social status, humans may exhibit similar patterns. Studies of non-human primates, however, have not reached consistent conclusions with respect to relationships between social position and levels of cortisol. While human studies report associations between cortisol and various aspects of social environments, studies that consider social status as a predictor of stress response also report mixed results. Others have argued that perceptions of social status may have different implications for stress response depending upon social context. We propose here that characteristics of children's social networks may be a better predictor of central tendencies and variability of stress response than their perceptions of social status. This is evaluated among 24 children from 9.4 to 11.3 years of age in one upper middle-class New Zealand primary school classroom, assessed through observation within the classroom, self-reports during semi-structured interviews and 221 serial saliva samples provided daily over 10 consecutive school days. A synthetic assessment of the children's networks and peer-relationships was developed prior to saliva-cortisol analysis. We found that greater stability of peer-relationships within groups significantly predicts lower within-group variation in mid-morning cortisol over the two-week period, but not overall within-group differences in mean cortisol.

Dominance and Prestige: A Tale of Two Hierarchies

Dominance and prestige represent evolved strategies used to navigate social hierarchies. Dominance is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by using coercion, intimidation, and power. Prestige is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by displaying valued knowledge and skills and earning respect. The current article synthesizes recent lines of research documenting differences between dominance- versus prestige-oriented individuals, including personality traits and emotions, strategic behaviors deployed in social interactions, leadership strategies, and physiological correlates of both behaviors. The article also reviews effects that dominance versus prestige have on the functioning and well-being of social groups. The article also presents opportunities for future research and discusses links between dominance and prestige and the social psychological literature on power and status.

The Faith of Sacrifice: Leadership Trade-Offs in an Afro-Brazilian Religion

Despite secular trends in some countries, prestige-based authority in the form of religious leadership remains hugely influential in the everyday lives of millions of people around the world. Here, the costs and benefits of religious leadership are explored in an urban setting in northeastern Brazil. An economic game, within-group cooperation questionnaires, and social network analyses were carried out among adherents of an Afro-Brazilian religion. Results reveal that leaders display high levels of religious commitment and disproportionally provide cooperative services to group members. On the other hand, initiates cooperate less than leaders but do not differ in levels of received cooperation or social cohesion measures. This may indicate some level of exploitation or free-riding. Demographic and group variables also appear to play an important role in the degree of social cohesion a group achieves. These findings are discussed in the context of non-Western urban settings where religious leadership may represent both an alternative to social advancement and a crucial source of material aid, social support, and a strong sense of community.

The roles of testosterone and cortisol in friendship formation

Although research has investigated the neuroendocrine correlates of romantic relationships, the neuroendocrine correlates of friendship formation are largely unexplored. In two conditions, participants' salivary testosterone and cortisol were measured before and after a high versus low closeness activity with another same-sex participant. In the high closeness task, participants took turns answering questions that fostered increases in self-disclosure. The low closeness task fostered low levels of self-disclosure. Dyadic multilevel models indicated that lower basal testosterone and decreases in testosterone were associated with increased closeness between recently acquainted strangers. Our results suggest that people high in testosterone felt less close to others and desired less closeness. Further, lower basal cortisol and dynamic cortisol decreases were associated with greater closeness and desired closeness in the high closeness condition. Finally, we found that the partners of those who had lower cortisol desired more closeness. These findings suggest that lower testosterone and cortisol are linked to the facilitation of initial social bonds and that these social bonds may, in turn, be associated with changes in these hormones.

Basal testosterone, leadership and dominance: A field study and meta-analysis

This article examines the role of basal testosterone as a potential biological marker of leadership and hierarchy in the workplace. First, we report the result of a study with a sample of male employees from different corporate organizations in the Netherlands (n=125). Results showed that employees with higher basal testosterone levels reported a more authoritarian leadership style, but this relationship was absent among those who currently held a real management position (i.e., they had at least one subordinate). Furthermore, basal testosterone levels were not different between managers and non-managers, and testosterone was not associated with various indicators of status and hierarchy such as number of subordinates, income, and position in the organizational hierarchy. In our meta-analysis (second study), we showed that basal testosterone levels were not associated with leadership in men nor in women (9 studies, n=1103). Taken together, our findings show that basal testosterone is not associated with having a leadership position in the corporate world or related to leadership styles in leaders. We suggest that basal testosterone could play a role in acquiring leadership positions through dominant and authoritarian behavior.

Sex Differences in the Perceived Dominance and Prestige of Women With and Without Cosmetics

Women wearing cosmetics have been associated with a higher earning potential and higher status jobs. However, recent literature suggests that status can be accrued through two distinct routes: dominance and prestige. In two experiments, we applied a standardized amount of cosmetics to female faces using computer software. We then asked participants to rate faces with and without cosmetics for various traits including attractiveness, dominance, and prestige. Men and women both rated the faces with cosmetics added as higher in attractiveness. However, only women rated faces with cosmetics as higher in dominance, while only men rated them as higher in prestige. In a follow-up study, we investigated whether these enhanced perceptions of dominance from women were caused by jealousy. We found that women experience more jealousy toward women with cosmetics, and view these women as more attractive to men and more promiscuous. Our findings suggest that cosmetics may function as an extended phenotype and can alter other's perceptions differently depending on the perceiver's sex.

Aging US males with multiple sources of emotional social support have low testosterone

Among species expressing bi-parental care, males' testosterone is often low when they cooperate with females to raise offspring. In humans, low testosterone men might have an advantage as nurturant partners and parents because they are less prone to anger and reactive aggression and are more empathetic. However, humans engage in cooperative, supportive relationships beyond the nuclear family, and these prosocial capacities were likely critical to our evolutionary success. Despite the diversity of human prosociality, no prior study has tested whether men's testosterone is also reduced when they participate in emotionally supportive relationships, beyond partnering and parenting. Here, we draw on testosterone and emotional social support data that were collected from older men (n=371; mean: 61.2years of age) enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a US nationally-representative study. Men who reported receiving emotional support from two or more sources had lower testosterone than men reporting zero support (all p<0.01). Males with the most support (4+ sources) also had lower testosterone than those with one source of support (p<0.01). Men who reported emotional support from diverse (kin+non-kin or multiple kin) sources had lower testosterone than those with no support (p<0.05). Expanding on research on partnering and parenting, our findings are consistent with the notion that low testosterone is downstream of and/or facilitates an array of supportive social relationships. Our results contribute novel insights on the intersections between health, social support, and physiology.

The Big Man Mechanism: how prestige fosters cooperation and creates prosocial leaders

Anthropological evidence from diverse societies suggests that prestige-based leadership may provide a foundation for cooperation in many contexts. Here, inspired by such ethnographic observations and building on a foundation of existing research on the evolution of prestige, we develop a set of formal models to explore when an evolved prestige psychology might drive the cultural evolution of n-person cooperation, and how such a cultural evolutionary process might create novel selection pressures for genes that make prestigious individuals more prosocial. Our results reveal (i) how prestige can foster the cultural emergence of cooperation by generating correlated behavioural phenotypes, both between leaders and followers, and among followers; (ii) why, in the wake of cultural evolution, natural selection favours genes that make prestigious leaders more prosocial, but only when groups are relatively small; and (iii), why the effectiveness of status differences in generating cooperation in large groups depends on cultural transmission (and not primarily on deference or coercion). Our theoretical framework, and the specific predictions made by these models, sketch out an interdisciplinary research programme that cross-cuts anthropology, biology, psychology and economics. Some of our predictions find support from laboratory work in behavioural economics and are consistent with several real-world patterns.

General Theory versus ENA Theory: Comparing Their Predictive Accuracy and Scope

General theory attributes criminal behavior primarily to low self-control, whereas evolutionary neuroandrogenic (ENA) theory envisions criminality as being a crude form of status-striving promoted by high brain exposure to androgens. General theory predicts that self-control will be negatively correlated with risk-taking, while ENA theory implies that these two variables should actually be positively correlated. According to ENA theory, traits such as pain tolerance and muscularity will be positively associated with risk-taking and criminality while general theory makes no predictions concerning these relationships. Data from Malaysia and the United States are used to test 10 hypotheses derived from one or both of these theories. As predicted by both theories, risk-taking was positively correlated with criminality in both countries. However, contrary to general theory and consistent with ENA theory, the correlation between self-control and risk-taking was positive in both countries. General theory's prediction of an inverse correlation between low self-control and criminality was largely supported by the U.S. data but only weakly supported by the Malaysian data. ENA theory's predictions of positive correlations between pain tolerance, muscularity, and offending were largely confirmed. For the 10 hypotheses tested, ENA theory surpassed general theory in predictive scope and accuracy.

Subclinical primary psychopathy, but not physical formidability or attractiveness, predicts conversational dominance in a zero-acquaintance situation

The determinants of conversational dominance are not well understood. We used videotaped triadic interactions among unacquainted same-sex American college students to test predictions drawn from the theoretical distinction between dominance and prestige as modes of human status competition. Specifically, we investigated the effects of physical formidability, facial attractiveness, social status, and self-reported subclinical psychopathy on quantitative (proportion of words produced), participatory (interruptions produced and sustained), and sequential (topic control) dominance. No measure of physical formidability or attractiveness was associated with any form of conversational dominance, suggesting that the characteristics of our study population or experimental frame may have moderated their role in dominance dynamics. Primary psychopathy was positively associated with quantitative dominance and (marginally) overall triad talkativeness, and negatively associated (in men) with affect word use, whereas secondary psychopathy was unrelated to conversational dominance. The two psychopathy factors had significant opposing effects on quantitative dominance in a multivariate model. These latter findings suggest that glibness in primary psychopathy may function to elicit exploitable information from others in a relationally mobile society.

Nonverbal dominance behavior among individuals at risk for mania

BACKGROUND

Research suggests that people with bipolar disorder may be highly motivated to attain dominance and may over-estimate their social power (Johnson and Carver, 2012). This manic temperament may provide an adaptive advantage in the pursuit of dominance and leadership (Akiskal and Akiskal, 1992). It was hypothesized that people at high risk for bipolar disorder, as defined by the Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS), would fail to assume a submissive role when it was appropriate to do so.

METHOD

Participants (81 undergraduates) completed an image description task with a confederate. Participants were randomly assigned to interact with a confederate who assumed one of three nonverbal postures: dominant (expanded), neutral, or submissive (constricted). Nonverbal dominance behavior was defined as the rate at which participants expanded their body span during the task.

RESULTS

Consistent with hypotheses, an ANOVA indicated an interaction of Mania risk x Dominance condition on body expansion. Whereas participants with low mania risk (HPS scores) adapted complementary behavior in response to the confederate, participants with high mania risk demonstrated a consistently dominant (expanded) nonverbal posture.

LIMITATIONS

A major limitation of this study is the use of an analog measure of mania risk in place of clinical diagnoses.

CONCLUSIONS

In this experiment, participants at high risk for mania maintained a dominant posture even when submissiveness would have been more appropriate. It is argued that persistent dominance behavior may play an important role in the interpersonal interactions of individuals at risk for bipolar disorder.

Testosterone dynamics and psychopathic personality traits independently predict antagonistic behavior towards the perceived loser of a competitive interaction

Few studies have investigated the influence of changes in testosterone on subsequent competitive, antagonistic behavior in humans. Further, little is known about the extent to which such effects are moderated by personality traits. Here, we collected salivary measures of testosterone before and after a rigged competition. After the competition, participants were given the opportunity to act antagonistically against the competitor (allocate a low honorarium). We hypothesized that changes in testosterone throughout the competition would predict antagonistic behavior such that greater increases would be associated with the allocation of lower honorariums. Further, we investigated the extent to which personality traits related to psychopathy (fearless dominance, FD; self-centered impulsivity, SCI; and coldheartedness) moderated this relationship. In men (n=104), greater increases in testosterone and greater FD were associated with more antagonistic behavior, but testosterone concentrations did not interact with personality measures. In women (n=97), greater FD and SCI predicted greater antagonistic behavior, but there were no significant endocrine predictors or interactions with personality measures. In a secondary set of analyses, we found no support for the dual-hormone hypothesis that the relationship between baseline testosterone concentrations and behavior is moderated by cortisol concentrations. Thus, results are consistent with previous findings that in men, situation-specific testosterone reactivity rather than baseline endocrine function is a better predictor of future antagonistic behavior. The results are discussed with respect to the Challenge Hypothesis and the Biosocial Model of Status, and the possible mechanisms underlying the independent relations of testosterone and personality factors with antagonistic behavior.

Do men's faces really signal heritable immunocompetence?

In the literature on human mate choice, masculine facial morphology is often proposed to be an intersexual signal of heritable immunocompetence, and hence an important component of men's attractiveness. This hypothesis has received considerable research attention, and is increasingly treated as plausible and well supported. In this article, we propose that the strength of the evidence for the immunocompetence hypothesis is somewhat overstated, and that a number of difficulties have been under-acknowledged. Such difficulties include (1) the tentative nature of the evidence regarding masculinity and disease in humans, (2) the complex and uncertain picture emerging from the animal literature on sexual ornaments and immunity, (3) the absence of consistent, cross-cultural support for the predictions of the immunocompetence hypothesis regarding preferences for masculinized stimuli, and (4) evidence that facial masculinity contributes very little, if anything, to overall attractiveness in real men. Furthermore, alternative explanations for patterns of preferences, in particular the proposal that masculinity is primarily an intrasexual signal, have been neglected. We suggest that immunocompetence perspectives on masculinity, whilst appealing in many ways, should still be regarded as speculative, and that other perspectives-and other traits-should be the subject of greater attention for researchers studying human mate preferences.

The dominance behavioral system and manic temperament: motivation for dominance, self-perceptions of power, and socially dominant behaviors

The dominance behavioral system has been conceptualized as a biologically based system comprising motivation to achieve social power and self-perceptions of power. Biological, behavioral, and social correlates of dominance motivation and self-perceived power have been related to a range of psychopathological tendencies. Preliminary evidence suggests that mania and risk for mania (manic temperament) relate to the dominance system.

METHOD

Four studies examine whether manic temperament, measured with the Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS), is related to elevations in dominance motivation, self-perceptions of power, and engagement in socially dominant behavior across multiple measures. In Study 1, the HPS correlated with measures of dominance motivation and the pursuit of extrinsically-oriented ambitions for fame and wealth among 454 undergraduates. In Study 2, the HPS correlated with perceptions of power and extrinsically-oriented lifetime ambitions among 780 undergraduates. In Study 3, the HPS was related to trait-like tendencies to experience hubristic (dominance-related) pride, as well as dominance motivation and pursuit of extrinsically-oriented ambitions. In Study 4, we developed the Socially Dominant Behavior Scale to capture behaviors reflecting high power. The scale correlated highly with the HPS among 514 undergraduates.

LIMITATIONS

The studies rely on self-ratings of manic temperament and dominance constructs, and findings have not yet been generalized to a clinical sample.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, results support the hypothesis that manic temperament is related to a focus on achieving social dominance, ambitions related to achieving social recognition, perceptions of having achieved power, tendencies to experience dominance-related pride, and engagement in social behaviors consistent with this elevated sense of power.

Implicit association between authentic pride and prestige compared to hubristic pride and dominance

Tracy and Robins proposed that pride has authentic and hubristic facets. Cheng, Tracy, and Henrich reported these two facets were based on prestige and dominance, respectively. Nine experiments were conducted in the current study to examine the implicit associations between words related to authentic and hubristic pride and those related to prestige and dominance. Implicit language association between authentic pride and high prestige status was strong, but that between hubristic pride and high dominance status was weak, suggesting that the authentic pride words might automatically convey a strong signal of high prestige status, whereas hubristic pride words might convey a weak signal of high dominance status.

Variation in CAG repeat length of the androgen receptor gene predicts variables associated with intrasexual competitiveness in human males

An expanding body of research suggests that circulating androgens regulate the allocation of energy between mating and survival effort in human males, with higher androgen levels promoting greater investment in mating effort. Because variations in the number of CAG codon repeats in the human androgen receptor (AR) gene appear to modulate the phenotypic effects of androgens - with shorter repeat lengths associated with greater androgenic effects per unit androgen - polymorphisms in this gene may predict trait-like individual differences in the degree to which men are calibrated toward greater mating effort. Consistent with this, men in the present study with shorter CAG repeat lengths exhibited greater upper body strength and scored higher on self-report measures of dominance and prestige, all of which are argued to be indices of mating effort. Repeat length failed to predict sociosexual orientation (i.e. pursuit of short-term mating relationships), however, suggesting that the traits correlated with this polymorphism may be primarily associated with intrasexual competitiveness in the service of long-term mating effort. None of these measures of mating effort was related to baseline testosterone concentrations (either as main effects or as interactions with CAG repeat length), implying that long-term androgen exposure associated with AR gene polymorphisms may account for more variance in some androgen-dependent traits than does current testosterone concentration. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of the CAG repeat polymorphism in the AR gene in explaining a broad range of individual differences in human males.

Testosterone and cortisol jointly regulate dominance: evidence for a dual-hormone hypothesis

Traditional theories propose that testosterone should increase dominance and other status-seeking behaviors, but empirical support has been inconsistent. The present research tested the hypothesis that testosterone's effect on dominance depends on cortisol, a glucocorticoid hormone implicated in psychological stress and social avoidance. In the domains of leadership (Study 1, mixed-sex sample) and competition (Study 2, male-only sample), testosterone was positively related to dominance, but only in individuals with low cortisol. In individuals with high cortisol, the relation between testosterone and dominance was blocked (Study 1) or reversed (Study 2). Study 2 further showed that these hormonal effects on dominance were especially likely to occur after social threat (social defeat). The present studies provide the first empirical support for the claim that the neuroendocrine reproductive (HPG) and stress (HPA) axes interact to regulate dominance. Because dominance is related to gaining and maintaining high status positions in social hierarchies, the findings suggest that only when cortisol is low should higher testosterone encourage higher status. When cortisol is high, higher testosterone may actually decrease dominance and in turn motivate lower status.