Testosterone, hormone of luxury?

Testosterone. This word is usually badociated with the idea of ​​virility, aggressiveness or power. An article published July 3 in the journal Nature Communications extends this list: consumption and luxury. Because according to this study, led by an international team including French researchers, men whose testosterone was increased would be more attracted by products whose brand is badociated with a high social status than by another brand known but connoted as less luxurious. They would also be more sensitive to products with improved social status. On the other hand, these men have not shown a preference for products badimilated to power or quality.

But what is the difference between social status and power? "The first refers to the positional advantages that an individual can enjoy badociated with the respect and admiration that others have for him and often conveyed by appearances such as the wearing of a prestigious brand of clothing. The second is the positional benefits of an individual's sense of control over key resources such as having money or directing a team of subordinates " explains David Dubois, badociate professor of marketing at INSEAD and co-author

To arrive at these results, the researchers asked 243 American men between the ages of 18 and 55 to have a testosterone or placebo gel on their torso. Once the hormone "absorbed" by the body, participants had to evaluate different consumer products whose more or less luxurious representation had been tested upstream.

Testosterone, a social hormone

The results of this study did not surprise the researchers. And for good reason. Testosterone is a social hormone. "She is involved in the behaviors of dominance explains Laurent Begue, professor of social psychology at the University of …