Testosterone administration reduces lying in men.
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.
Department of Economics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Matthias
M
Wibral
Thomas
T
Dohmen
Dietrich
D
Klingmüller
Bernd
B
Weber
Armin
A
Falk
D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000328:Adult; D000728:Androgens / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology; D016010:Binomial Distribution; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D008192:Deception; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013739:Testosterone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D055815:Young Adult
D000728:Androgens; D013739:Testosterone