The higher the testosterone, the more men choose luxury products – Andrology

If some men choose and buy more cars of sport, the fault is testosterone. The higher the level, the higher the preference is given to luxury items and design, and brands considered a status symbol, such as a Ferrari or jeans by a famous designer. This is demonstrated by a study from the California Institute of Technology, published in the journal Nature Communications.
A logical result, given that one of the main functions of testosterone is to generate behaviors that seek and protect their status and prestige.

"In the animal kingdom, testosterone drives aggression, which also serves as a status.Many humans replace physical aggression with some kind of consumerist aggression," says Colin Camerer , the coordinator of the study. Camerer compares the cost of this behavior to the cost and weight that, for example, the male peabad wears to wear and show off his elaborate tail. "If you do not need to To attract a partner, it would be easier for a peabad to live without this tail, to escape predators more easily and to find food – he continues – men would probably be better off without spending 300 000 $ by car, they can show people that they are rich enough. "

243 male volunteers aged 18 to 55 years were observed in the study, some of whom received a dose of gel testosterone and others a placebo. In the first experiment, they had to rank on a scale of 1 to 10 a brand of high social prestige and another one of lesser prestige but of equivalent quality, while in the second they had to choose between advertisements for cars, glbades of sun and coffee machines. luxury and power. In both cases, men with more testosterone chose luxury products. "Among animals, males spend a lot of time and energy struggling to establish their dominion – he concludes – We do it too, but our weapons are clothes, cars and houses."