Testosterone administration reduces lying in men

PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e46774. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046774. Epub 2012 Oct 10.

Abstract

Lying is a pervasive phenomenon with important social and economic implications. However, despite substantial interest in the prevalence and determinants of lying, little is known about its biological foundations. Here we study a potential hormonal influence, focusing on the steroid hormone testosterone, which has been shown to play an important role in social behavior. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, 91 healthy men (24.32±2.73 years) received a transdermal administration of 50 mg of testosterone (n=46) or a placebo (n=45). Subsequently, subjects participated in a simple task, in which their payoff depended on the self-reported outcome of a die-roll. Subjects could increase their payoff by lying without fear of being caught. Our results show that testosterone administration substantially decreases lying in men. Self-serving lying occurred in both groups, however, reported payoffs were significantly lower in the testosterone group (p<0.01). Our results contribute to the recent debate on the effect of testosterone on prosocial behavior and its underlying channels.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Cutaneous
  • Adult
  • Androgens / administration & dosage
  • Androgens / blood
  • Androgens / pharmacology
  • Binomial Distribution
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Deception*
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Humans
  • Linear Models
  • Male
  • Personality Inventory
  • Psychomotor Performance / drug effects*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Testosterone / administration & dosage
  • Testosterone / blood
  • Testosterone / pharmacology*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Androgens
  • Testosterone

Grants and funding

AF thanks the German Science Foundation (DFG) through SFB/TR 15 and the European Research Council (Starting Grant) for financial support. BW was supported by a Heisenberg Grant of the DFG (WE 4427/3-1). Neither the DFG nor the European Research Council had a role in the conduct of this study.