Androgen responsiveness to competition in humans: the role of cognitive variables

Figures & data

Figure 1 Schematic representation of androgen changes proposed by the challenge hypothesis: (A) constitutive androgen levels; (B) breeding baseline levels needed for successful reproduction; and (C) maximum physiological levels.

Table 1 Summary of human studies reporting effects of competition on androgen levels (sorted by year of publication)

Author	Paradigm	Sex (n)	Measure	Competition effect	Winner vs loser	Pre vs post T winner	Pre vs post T loser
Mazur and Lamb^Citation28	Tennis	M (8)	Plasma	↓ (close match)	n/a	↑ (decisive match)	↓ (decisive match)
	Lottery	M (14)	Plasma	ns	n/a	ns	ns
Elias^Citation29	Wrestling	M (15)	Plasma	↓	W > L (T% change)	n/a	n/a
Booth et al^Citation30	Tennis	M (6)	Saliva	n/a	ns	n/a	n/a
Gladue et al^Citation31	Reaction time task	M (39)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	n/a	n/a
Mazur et al^Citation32	Chess regional	M (8)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	n/a	n/a
	Chess tournament	M (8)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	n/a	n/a
McCaul et al^Citation33	Exp 1: coin toss	M (28)	Saliva	n/a	W > L (P=0.079)	n/a n/a/	n/a n/a
	Exp 2: coin toss	M (101)	Saliva	n/a	W > L
Mazur et al^Citation34	Video game	M (28)	Saliva	ns	ns	n/a	n/a
		F (32)	Saliva	↓	ns	n/a	n/a
Bernhardt et al^Citation35	Watching basketball	M (8)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	↑	↓
	Watching soccer	M (21)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	↑	↓
Gonzalez-Bono et al^Citation36	Basketball	M (16)	Saliva	n/a	ns	ns	ns
Schultheiss et al^Citation37	NTT	M (42)	Saliva	n/a	ns	n/a	n/a
Suay et al^Citation38	Judo	M (28)	Plasma	↓	ns	n/a	n/a
Gonzalez-Bono et al^Citation39	Basketball (winners)	M (16)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	Team 1: ↑ (P=0.058)
Team 2: ns	n/a
Serrano et al^Citation40	Judo	M (12)	Saliva	ns	ns	ns	ns
Filaire et al^Citation41	Judo	M (18)	Saliva	n/a	W < L	ns	ns
Bateup et al^Citation42	Rugby	F (17)	Saliva	↓	ns	n/a	n/a
Schultheiss and Rohde^Citation43	NTT	M (66)	Saliva	n/a	ns	n/a	n/a
Wagner et al^Citation44	Domino	M (8)	Saliva	n/a	ns	ns	ns
Kivlighan et al^Citation45	Ergometer	M (23)	Saliva	↑	n/a	n/a	n/a
		F (23)	Saliva	ns	n/a	n/a	n/a
Schultheiss et al^Citation46	SRT task	M (95)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
		F (75)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Edwards et al^Citation47	Soccer	M (22)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	↑ (P=0.08)	n/a
		F (18)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	↑	↑
Josephs et al^Citation48	NTT	M (92)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Mehta and Josephs^Citation49	NTT	M (64)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Parmigiani and Bartolomucci^Citation50	Judo	M (22)	Plasma	↑ (total T)	W < L (free and total T)	n/a	n/a
Stanton and Schultheiss^Citation51	SRT	F (49)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Van Anders and Watson^Citation52	Vocabulary task (ability determined)	M (37)	Saliva	n/a	ns	ns	↓ (P=0.055)
		F (38)	Saliva	n/a	ns	ns	ns
	Vocabulary task (chance determined)	M (31)	Saliva	ns	ns	ns	ns
		F (43)	Saliva	ns	ns	ns	ns
Carré and McCormick^Citation53	PSAP	M (38)	Saliva	↓	n/a	n/a	n/a
Mehta et al^Citation45	Dog competition	M (93) F (91)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Intelligence test	F (70)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Carré^Citation55	Hockey (winners)	M (10)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	↑	n/a
Carré et al^Citation56	NTT + PSAP	M (39)	Saliva	↓	n/a	n/a	n/a
		F (60)	Saliva	↓	n/a	n/a	n/a
Edwards and O’Neal^Citation57	Sports	F (80)	Saliva	↑	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hamilton et al^Citation58	Wrestling	F (21)	Saliva	n/a	ns	↑	↑
Mehta et al^Citation59	Intelligence test	M (30) F (30)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Oliveira et al^Citation60	Soccer	F (33)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	↑	↓
Pound et al^Citation61	Lab task	M (57)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	↑	ns
Stanton et al^Citation62	Elections	M (57)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	ns	↓
		F (106)	Saliva	n/a	ns	n/a	n/a
Carre et al^Citation63	PSAP	M (139)	Saliva	ns	n/a	n/a	n/a
Edwards and Kurlander^Citation64	Volleyball (winners)	F (15)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	↑	n/a
	Tennis (losers)	F (13)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	↑
Oxford et al^Citation65	video game (teams)	M (42)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	↓ (between teams competition)	↓ (between teams competition)
Steiner et al^Citation66	Poker	M (32)	Saliva	n/a	ns	↑	↑
Van der Meij et al^Citation67	Intelligence test	M (84)	Saliva	n/a	ns	↑	↑
Slatcher et al^Citation68	Lab task	M (76)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Costa and Salvador^Citation69	Squares and letters	F (40)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	n/a	n/a
Jiménez et al^Citation70	Badminton	M (27)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	↑	↓
		F (23)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	↑	↓
Trumble et al^Citation71	Soccer	M (88)	Saliva	↑	ns	n/a	n/a
Van der Meij et al^Citation72	Watching soccer (winners)	M (25)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	ns	n/a
		F (25)	Saliva	n/a	n/a	ns	n/a
Zilioli and watson^Citation73	Tetris	M (70)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	ns	↓
Carré et al^Citation74	Video game	M (114)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	n/a	n/a
		F (123)	Saliva	n/a	ns	n/a	n/a
Denson et al^Citation75	RT task	F (53)	Saliva	n/a	W > L	n/a	n/a
Oliveira et al^Citation76	NTT	F (34)	Saliva	n/a	W < L (P=0.097)	ns	↑

Notes: ↓ = significant decrease; ↑ = significant increase.

Abbreviations: F, female; L, loser; M, male; n/a, not tested in original paper; ns, nonsignificant differences; NTT, number tracking test; PSAP, point subtraction aggression paradigm; SRT, serial response task; T, testosterone; W, winner; vs, versus; Pre, pre-competition levels of T; post, post-competition levels of T; Exp, experiment; Lab, laboratory; RT, reaction time.

Figure 2 Hypothetical representation of the interaction between hormones and cognition, from contest appraisal to behavioral response.

Abbreviations: C, cortisol; SEC, stimulus evaluation checks; T, testosterone.

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