title: Testosterone reactivity and identification with a perpetrator or a victim in a story are associated with attraction to violence-related cues.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent field research has demonstrated that an attraction to aggressive behavior and cruelty is common among combatants and perpetrators involved in organized violence. The biological basis of this appetitive perception of aggression in humans has to date not been studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We examined testosterone as a potential hormonal moderator during induction of specifically appetitive aggressive behavior in the laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  To activate physiological responding related to appetitive aggression, 145 university students (72 women) listened to tape recordings of variants of a violent story. The perspective of the listener in the story was randomized between subjects. Participants were required to either identify as perpetrator, neutral observer, or victim. We assessed changes in saliva testosterone in response to the story. Subsequently, a series of pictorial stimuli (IAPS) with different valence ratings was presented and participants determined the length of viewing time with a button click. This viewing time for negative IAPS was assessed as a dependent variable indicating level of interest in violent scenes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Men identified themselves with the perpetrator more than women irrespective of the particular perspective presented by the story. Men who responded with an increase in saliva testosterone when adopting the perpetrator perspective chose to view the negative IAPS pictures for longer intervals than participants in other conditions or those who did not exhibit a release in testosterone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Testosterone moderates attraction to cruel and violent cues in men, as indicated by extended deliberate viewing of violence cues.
authors.affiliation: University of Konstanz, Department of Psychology, Germany. Electronic address: roland.weierstall@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weierstall
authors.affiliation: University of Konstanz, Department of Psychology, Germany.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: University of Konstanz, Department of Psychology, Germany.
authors.forename: Gilda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giebel
authors.affiliation: University of Konstanz, Department of Psychology, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Elbert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D013637:Tape Recording; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D014754:Violence; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone
keywords: Appetitive aggression; IAPS pictures; Testosterone; Violent story