For years, testosterone has been associated with behaviors such as risk-taking, competitiveness, and generosity. However, a major new study—the largest of its kind to date—reveals that administering testosterone does not lead to different economic decisions in men compared to those receiving a placebo. Conducted by researchers from the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden and Nipissing University in Canada, the research evaluated male participants’ tendencies toward risk, fairness, competition, and cooperation.
“Previous research, often relying on small sample sizes, hinted that testosterone could influence economic behavior,” explains Anna Dreber, co-lead author and Professor in the Department of Economics at SSE. “In this much larger trial, where we pre-registered our analytical methods to prevent bias, we found no measurable impact of testosterone on decision-making in economic contexts. This strongly suggests that short-term increases in testosterone do not alter financial or strategic choices in men.”
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study involved 1,000 men aged 18 to 45, recruited between 2018 and 2023 across three Canadian sites—ten to twenty times more participants than typical earlier studies. In a double-blind setup, subjects received either a single 11-milligram nasal dose of testosterone or a placebo. After a 30-minute wait for hormone absorption, they engaged in established behavioral economics tasks designed to assess risk tolerance, altruism, competitive drive, and fairness.
Results showed no statistically meaningful differences across the nine primary outcome measures. Participants given testosterone behaved similarly to those given the inactive substance. The findings challenge widely held assumptions about hormonal influence on financial and social decision-making.
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Testosterone does not alter economic decision making in men
Testosterone has long been linked to risk-taking, generosity, and competitiveness. But a new large-scale study – the biggest of its kind – finds that men given testosterone made the same economic choices as those given a placebo. The study, led by researchers at the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden and Nipissing University in Canada, examined things like men ‘s inclination to take risk, act fairly or compete with others. n n”Earlier studies, often based on small samples, suggested that testosterone might impact our willingness to take risk or compete in economic settings,” says co-lead author Anna Dreber, Professor at the Department of Economics at SSE. “But in this substantially larger experiment where we have also pregistered how we would do the analysis prior to observing the data to avoid bias, we do not find any effects of testosterone on economic decision making. Our findings give us strong evidence that short-term testosterone boosts don ‘t meaningfully change men ‘s economic choices.” n nPublished in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study included 1,000 men – ten to 20 times more than typical prior studies – between 18 to 45 years old who were recruited between 2018 and 2023 at three locations in Canada. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a single dose of 11 milligrams testosterone or a placebo, both administered through the nose, in a double-blind trial. After waiting 30 minutes for the hormone to take effect, the participants took part in a series of well-known decision-making games and tasks used in behavioral economics. These tasks measured things like risk taking, generosity, willingness to compete and fairness preferences. n nThe result showed no statistically significant effect of testosterone on any of the nine main outcomes. Men who received testosterone behaved, on average, the same as those who received the placebo. n nChallenges popular narrative