Beyond the Challenge Hypothesis: The Emergence of the Dual-hormone Hypothesis and Recommendations for Future Research

Overview

Journal Horm Behav

Specialties Endocrinology
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 2019 Dec 22

PMID 31863735

Citations 9

Authors

Erik L Knight

Amar Sarkar

Smrithi Prasad

Pranjal H Mehta

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The challenge hypothesis makes specific predictions about the association between testosterone and status-seeking behaviors, but the findings linking testosterone to these behaviors are often inconsistent. The dual-hormone hypothesis was developed to help explain these inconsistencies. Specifically, according to this hypothesis, testosterone's association with status-seeking behavior depends on levels of cortisol. Here, we (1) describe the dual-hormone hypothesis in relation to the challenge hypothesis; (2) review recent studies that tested the dual-hormone hypothesis as well as meta-scientific evidence of heterogeneous dual-hormone findings across studies; (3) discuss potential explanations for this heterogeneity, including methodological considerations, contextual factors, and individual differences; and (4) provide recommendations for new work aimed at testing and extending the dual-hormone hypothesis.

Citing Articles

No evidence for an association of testosterone and cortisol hair concentrations with social decision-making in a large cohort of young adults.

Massaccesi C, Johnson-Ferguson L, Zimmermann J, Ehlert A, Baumgartner M, Binz T Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2024; 19(1.

PMID: 39671693 PMC: 11642610. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae090.

No evidence for relationship between paternal post-partum depressive symptoms and testosterone or cortisol in first-time fathers.

Kotov D, Corpuz R Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1348031.

PMID: 38425562 PMC: 10902172. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1348031.

Testosterone promotes dominance behaviors in the Ultimatum Game after players' status increases.

Inoue Y, Burriss R, Hasegawa T, Kiyonari T Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):18029.

PMID: 37865708 PMC: 10590433. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45247-4.

Economic Decisions, Attractiveness, and Intrasexual Competition during Menstrual Cycle in the Ultimatum Game.

Alzate-Pamplona F, Galindo-Caballero O, Sanchez Escudero J, Zapata J Int J Psychol Res (Medellin). 2023; 16(1):6-15.

PMID: 37547862 PMC: 10402649. DOI: 10.21500/20112084.5919.

Hormonal responses to brief social interactions: The role of psychosocial stress and relationship status.

Nickels McLean N, Maestripieri D PLoS One. 2023; 18(6):e0287153.

PMID: 37352264 PMC: 10289427. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287153.

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