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Testosterone impairs cognitive reflection in men

Co-authors: Amos Nadler, Colin Camerer

The male sex hormone testosterone (T) is released in the body and the brain in response to external stimuli, influencing diverse social behaviors context sensitively. We investigated the causal effects of T administration on human decision-making using a dual-process framework.

244 males received either T or placebo under a double blind protocol and took the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) that assesses one's ability to suppress an intuitive incorrect answer in favor of a deliberative correct answer. T administration significantly impaired subject’s CRT performances. The effects were robust to controlling for math skills, age, mood and the levels of other measured hormones.