TY - JOUR
T1 - Testosterone Administration Reduces Lying in Men
AU - Wibral, M.
AU - Dohmen, T.J.
AU - Klingmüller, Dietrich
AU - Weber, Bernd
AU - Falk, Armin
PY - 2012/10/10
Y1 - 2012/10/10
N2 - Lying is a pervasive phenomenon with important social and economic implications. However, despite substantial interest in the prevalence and determinants of lying, little is known about its biological foundations. Here we study a potential hormonal influence, focusing on the steroid hormone testosterone, which has been shown to play an important role in social behavior. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, 91 healthy men (24.32 ± 2.73 years) received a transdermal administration of 50 mg of testosterone (n = 46) or a placebo (n = 45). Subsequently, subjects participated in a simple task, in which their payoff depended on the self-reported outcome of a die-roll. Subjects could increase their payoff by lying without fear of being caught. Our results show that testosterone administration substantially decreases lying in men. Self-serving lying occurred in both groups, however, reported payoffs were significantly lower in the testosterone group (p < 0.01). Our results contribute to the recent debate on the effect of testosterone on prosocial behavior and its underlying channels.
AB - Lying is a pervasive phenomenon with important social and economic implications. However, despite substantial interest in the prevalence and determinants of lying, little is known about its biological foundations. Here we study a potential hormonal influence, focusing on the steroid hormone testosterone, which has been shown to play an important role in social behavior. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, 91 healthy men (24.32 ± 2.73 years) received a transdermal administration of 50 mg of testosterone (n = 46) or a placebo (n = 45). Subsequently, subjects participated in a simple task, in which their payoff depended on the self-reported outcome of a die-roll. Subjects could increase their payoff by lying without fear of being caught. Our results show that testosterone administration substantially decreases lying in men. Self-serving lying occurred in both groups, however, reported payoffs were significantly lower in the testosterone group (p < 0.01). Our results contribute to the recent debate on the effect of testosterone on prosocial behavior and its underlying channels.
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0046774
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0046774
M3 - Article
C2 - 23071635
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 7
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
IS - 10
M1 - e46774
ER -