Testosterone and financial risk preferences

Received 15 April 2008; accepted 1 July 2008. published online 11 September 2008.

Abstract

Many human behaviors, from mating to food acquisition and aggressiveness, entail some degree of risk. Testosterone, a steroid hormone, has been implicated in a wide range of such behaviors in men. However, little is known about the specific relationship between testosterone and risk preferences. In this article, we explore the relationship between prenatal and pubertal testosterone exposure, current testosterone, and financial risk preferences in men. Using a sample of 98 men, we find that risk-taking in an investment game with potential for real monetary payoffs correlates positively with salivary testosterone levels and facial masculinity, with the latter being a proxy of pubertal hormone exposure. 2D:4D, which has been proposed as a proxy for prenatal hormone exposure, did not correlate significantly with risk preferences. Although this is a study of association, the results may shed light on biological determinants of risk preferences.

Keywords: Testosterone, Risk, Risk-taking, Facial masculinity, 2D:4D

a Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

b Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

c Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm 113 83, Sweden

d Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA

e Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA

f Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

g Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland

Corresponding author. Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

1 These authors contributed equally.

PII: S1090-5138(08)00067-6

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.07.001

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