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Brañas-Garza, P., Modak Chowdhury, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-8386-9144, Espín, A.M. et al. (1 more author) (2023) ‘Born this way’? Prenatal exposure to testosterone may determine behavior in competition and conflict. Journal of Economic Psychology, 96. 102623. ISSN 0167-4870
Abstract
Fetal exposure to sex hormones can have long lasting effects on human behavior. The second-to-fourth digit ratio (DR) is considered a putative marker for prenatal exposure to testosterone (vs. estrogens), with higher exposure resulting in lower DR. Even though testosterone is theoretically related to competition, the role of DR in human behavior is debated; and in situations such as bilateral conflict is unknown. We investigate this through a laboratory experiment using a repeated 2-person Tullock contest played in fixed same-gender pairs. Based on a previously obtained large sample of student subjects, we selectively invited participants to the laboratory if their right-hand DR was in the top (High-DR) or bottom (Low-DR) tercile for their gender. Unbeknownst to the subjects, we performed a controlled match of the DR types (Low-Low, Low-High, High-High). This novel methodology allows us to analyze the causal effect of DR on behavior for the first time in the literature. We find that Low-DR (vs. High-DR) males compete more aggressively regardless of the counterpart’s type. For females’ conflict behavior, the counterpart’s type matters more than the decision-maker’s type: Low-DRs are non-significantly more aggressive but everyone is more aggressive against High-DRs. Limitations due to sample size are discussed.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Digit Ratio; Contest; Conflict; Gender: Lab Experiments |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Economics (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Mar 2023 15:54 |
Last Modified: | 31 Mar 2023 08:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.joep.2023.102623 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:197481 |
Available Versions of this Item
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‘Born this way’? Prenatal exposure to testosterone may determine behavior in competition and conflict. (deposited 17 Mar 2023 16:05)
- ‘Born this way’? Prenatal exposure to testosterone may determine behavior in competition and conflict. (deposited 17 Mar 2023 15:54) [Currently Displayed]