title: Romantic involvement often reduces men's testosterone levels--but not always: the moderating role of extrapair sexual interest.
abstract: Testosterone (T) appears to facilitate what biologists refer to as mating effort--the investment of time and energy into same-sex competition and mate-seeking behavior. Multiple studies show that men who are romantically involved (i.e., are paired) have lower T than single men, which may be due to a facultative adjustment by men of T levels in response to lower demands for mating effort. The authors proceeded on the basis of the idea that men who retain interests in sexual opportunities with women other than a primary partner continue to dedicate more time and energy to mating effort when romantically paired, and so they predicted that the association between relationship status and T depends on men's extrapair sexual interests. Study 1 used the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory to measure extrapair sexual interests, whereas Study 2 used a broader measure to examine this interaction. Both studies found support for it. These results have implications for an understanding of the biosocial regulation of men's behavior in romantic relationships.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mmcintyr@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.forename: Steven W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Gangestad
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Judith Flynn
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Terence C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Burnham
authors.forename: Mary T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: O'Rourke
authors.forename: Randy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thornhill
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005114:Extramarital Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D012747:Sexual Partners; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone