Testosterone: More Than Just a Muscle Maker

In the wild, a young baboon tried to challenge the alpha male, but the alpha male didn't even flinch. This shows that dominance isn't always about aggression. The alpha male was confident and didn't need to prove himself. The young baboon, on the other hand, was all worked up and ready to fight. Studies have shown that the alpha male often has lower testosterone levels than the challenger. This goes against the idea that high testosterone makes you more dominant. Some people think that having low testosterone makes you weak or less of a man. They use phrases like "soy boy" to insult people they disagree with. But science shows that testosterone doesn't make you more aggressive or dominant. In fact, it's more about how you react to threats to your status. For example, a male impala with high testosterone might attack an intruder from a farther distance than usual. Castration studies show that removing testosterone reduces aggression, but it doesn't eliminate it completely. This suggests that aggression is not just about hormones. It's also about learned behavior and social experience. Testosterone makes you more sensitive to threats to your status, but it doesn't necessarily make you more aggressive.In a study with monkeys, a castrated male was given large amounts of testosterone. Instead of becoming the alpha male, he just became more aggressive towards his subordinates. This shows that testosterone doesn't create new patterns of aggression. It just amplifies the behaviors that you've already learned. Humans gain status in many different ways, not just through physical strength. Winning a game or being kind can also boost your status. In a study where women played an economic game, those who were given testosterone were more fair. This suggests that testosterone can actually promote positive behaviors when status is tied to kindness. So, if society is aggressive, it's not because of testosterone. It's because we reward aggression. We need to think about how we give out status and what behaviors we value. Testosterone is just one piece of the puzzle. It's not the whole story.