Men have more trouble coping in a recession than women do.
Could this be because testosterone makes them more miserly?
In New Scientist, Ewen Callaway quotes neuroeconomist
Karen Redwine as saying, "Our broad conclusion is that
testosterone causes men essentially to be stingy." With team
member Paul Zak, she gave a gel containing testosterone to
25 participants, which elevated their level of the male
hormone to twice the normal amount, then gave them a test
that revealed their level of generosity. They all also got a
cream containing the female hormone oxytocin, which helps
regulate childbirth (one of the ultimate examples of
generosity).
The participants played a simple economic game with another
participant over the internet, where one person is made an
offer which the other player either accepts or rejects.
Everyone took turns playing both roles. The more of the male
sex hormone that was flowing through their veins, the more
tight-fisted the players became. Callaway quotes Redwine as
saying, "People are selfish, but they're selfless as well, and
it's not understood why the behavior shifts."
The key may be the interaction between testosterone and
oxytocin, the hormone which, in women, When cream
containing oxytocin was used, male generosity, as measured
by the computer game, increased 80%, meaning that
oxytocin seems to block the action of testosterone in the
brain. Callaway quotes Redwine as saying, "It's possible that
by creating these alpha males, we actually inhibited oxytocin."
In strange times like these, the best thing we can do
is to use
our brains (which are BETTER in contactees and
abductees) to change
things. Anne Strieber explains what this is all about just for
subscribers!
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