An important direction for future dual-hormone research will be to more explicitly determine when testosterone × cortisol interaction effects may be seen with baseline hormone levels versus dynamic hormonal responses. One recent report has highlighted the specificity of endogenous cortisol’s moderating influence - and not cardiovascular indices of stress responses - on the link between testosterone and status seeking (Prasad, Knight, and Mehta, 2019). Overall, this work suggests testosterone may heighten the rewarding or threatening properties of a given status-relevant situation, dependent on cortisol levels. For an individual with high testosterone and low cortisol levels, the threat inherent to a higher-status opponent may not be as salient and, as discussed above, the potential reward from competing with a higher-status opponent perhaps is more persuasive. In line with this reasoning, one recent study found that high basal testosterone was positively related to a psychological measure of reward (enjoyment of a status-relevant economic game, the hawk-dove game), but only among low-cortisol but not high-cortisol individuals (Mehta et al., 2017). Testosterone treatment in males who had high (endogenous) cortisol levels resulted in more competitive behavior against prior losers (lower-status opponents) and avoided prior winners (higher-status opponents).
In response to the early criticisms of the trait approach, theorists began to research leadership as a set of behaviors by evaluating the behavior of successful leaders, determining a behavior taxonomy, and identifying broad leadership styles. Studies of leadership have produced theories involving (for example) traits, complexity, collective intelligence, situational interaction,function, behavior, power, vision, values, charisma, and intelligence,among others. While testosterone promotes dominance and risk-taking, high levels of cortisol due to stress can hinder these qualities. However, the balance between testosterone and cortisol is essential in maintaining optimal leadership qualities. Moreover, chronic stress can disrupt the delicate balance of hormones in the body, including testosterone and cortisol. The delicate interplay between testosterone and other hormones highlights the importance of hormone balance in leadership development. This highlights the significance of stress reduction techniques such as yoga and meditation, which can help unleash the leadership potential in individuals.
Hormone therapy is not right for everyone and carries risks. Low testosterone affects millions of men, but help is available. Low testosterone often feels like carrying around an invisible weight. With real rest comes the resilience needed to handle stress, think clearly, and show up fully for family and work. Low testosterone disrupts that cycle.
Males with high testosterone and high cortisol concentrations displayed a reversed pattern, avoiding rematches against the same opponent after losing (i.e., a higher-status opponent) but competing against the same opponent after winning (a lower-status opponent). Dual-hormone associations with externalizing behavior have also been shown to depend on personality traits such as disagreeableness and emotional instability in one study of adolescents (Tackett et al., 2014). Specifically, testosterone treatment given to men with higher levels of this dominant-related personality profile demonstrated increased aggressive behavior due to increased enjoyment of behaving in an aggressive fashion (Geniole et al., 2019). Prior work has shown that the causal effects of testosterone treatment on female competitive behavior (Mehta et al., 2015b) and male aggressive behavior (Carré et al. 2017) are stronger for individuals high in self-reported trait dominance.
The HPA axis, which is generally sensitive to changes in the internal state of the individual, is triggered in response to novel or unpredictable situations7, and may also be involved in the behavioral mechanisms that support social group dynamics. Individual differences in risk-taking behavior may be related to hormonal differences. This article used a novel measure of group-level hormone concentrations and examined groups’ behavioral performance in a business simulation decision-making task. These values will likely differ if using other methodology, such as hormone administration, or running simpler studies that lack multiple conditions. Nevertheless, as noted here, the dual-hormone hypothesis has been beset by its own share of methodological and interpretational concerns, which mirror those noted elsewhere in experimental psychology (e.g., low statistical power, flexibility in analysis and interpretation; Open Science Collaboration, 2015; Simmons, Nelson, & Simonsohn, 2011). The influence of the endocrine system on animal social behavior is complex and multifaceted, and a number of theories have been developed in the last several decades to explain these associations. These results suggest that the HPG and HPA axes may be interacting with each other to influence a range of hormone-dependent processes throughout the body.
Across all three contexts of low and of high risk, testosterone was positively related to leadership in both males and females, but only in individuals with low cortisol levels. Based on the dual-hormone hypothesis, we investigated here whether the interaction between testosterone and cortisol can predict risk-taking leadership behavior in wild rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis). The DHH focuses on interactions between cortisol and testosterone as predictors of status seeking behavior like leadership (i.e., individual’s influence on collective group behavior37).
In broader human health research, testosterone and cortisol have also been jointly linked to health outcomes, such as hippocampal volume and cognitive functioning in middle-aged men (Panizzon et al., 2018). Life history theory takes a life-course perspective (i.e., focusing on certain milestones in life such as parturition) and only limited work has focused on testosterone × cortisol in this context. This framework suggests that testosterone may mediate motivational and metabolic trade-offs between seeking and competing for sexual partners (high testosterone levels) and caring for offspring (lower testosterone levels; Hau, 2007; Grebe et al., 2019b). Older adults are also motivated by emotional well-being goals that can be achieved in their (seemingly limited) lifetime, rather than the acquisition of resources that may relate to social status (Carstensen, 1992). For example, Kordsmeyer and Penke (2019) manipulated testosterone levels via an inter-male competition that was directed by an attractive female experimenter; a control condition consisted of watching a documentary movie in a lab session led by a male experimenter. Lower empathic accuracy has been linked to earning status in a competition (Vongas & Al Hajj, 2014) and fluctuations in this cognitive process may support status seeking. Pharmacological experiments in general tend to provide stronger evidence of causality, because they allow for experimental control over hormone levels.

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