by MARIA KONNIKOVA
How you can change your own testosterone level…
And why should you care? Beyond curiosity—and a recasting of how gender differences in risky behavior are perceived—it’s not like you can alter your testosterone levels. Except, that’s not always the case. There are certain things that are known to increase our testosterone. For instance, when athletes both win and lose sports matches, their testosterone changes. Voters’ testosterone shifts when their preferred candidates win or lose an election. Even something as minor as watching an action movie can affect testosterone – as can something that seems not to matter at all, such as how you sit (people who sit in more expansive poses, taking up more space, have increased testosterone levels and feel more powerful as compared to those who sit in more contracted, closed postured).
…and what that might mean for risk
So if our testosterone can shift with such seemingly inconsequential environmental influences, and our level of testosterone, whether very low or very high, can affect how we judge risk and ambiguity and how likely we are to take economic gambles, then it seems that our risky choices are apt to change depending on these influences.
This has very real implications for financial decisions specifically. A 2008 study that followed male traders in London found that morning testosterone levels actually affected a trader’s daily profitability. And, market volatility in turn affected testosterone levels. A possible self-reinforcing spiral? Potentially, if we consider market bubbles and busts.
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