PETERSON AND HARMON-JONES
2011. ANGER AND TESTOSTERONE:
EVIDENCE THAT SITUATIONALLYINDUCED ANGER
RELATES TO SITUATIONALLY-INDUCED
TESTOSTERONE
Background:
• The relation between aggression and testosterone has
always been a questionable link.
• In fact: testosterone is only responsible for a small portion
of aggressive behaviour.
• And some studies have shown no connection at all (Archer,
Graham-Kevan, & Davies 2005).
• Instead, researchers now believe that testosterone plays a
role in a broader picture involving power and dominance
(Archer, 2006; Eisenegger, Naef, Snozzi, Heinrichs, & Fehr,
2009)
• But anger is a kind of social dominance phenomenon, so
testosterone must be related to the emotion of anger.
PETERSON AND HARMON-JONES
2011. ANGER AND TESTOSTERONE:
EVIDENCE THAT SITUATIONALLY-INDUCED
ANGER RELATES TO SITUATIONALLYINDUCED TESTOSTERONE
Aim:
• Measuring changes in salivery testosterone and it’s relation
to anger.
• Anger was evoked using Cyberball, a computer balltoss
game that can be used to evoke social rejection.
• This particular paradigm was chosen for inducing anger
because of its known ability to evoke anger in an
experimentally-controlled manner.
• They predicted that anger evoked in this paradigm would
relate to testosterone.
• Also measuring cortisol but it was not anticipated that this
would make any difference since it is involved in stress and
fear.
PETERSON AND HARMON-JONES
2011. ANGER AND TESTOSTERONE:
EVIDENCE THAT SITUATIONALLYINDUCED ANGER
RELATES TO SITUATIONALLY-INDUCED
TESTOSTERONE
Method:
• Forty-three (18 male) nonsmoking introductory psychology
students 18–20 years old were run between 12:00 p.m. and
5:30 p.m. to reduce diurnal (dygnsrytm) influence.
• Saliva sample was taken after playing the ball-toss game
and they were told that they were playing against two other
contestors.
• They were told that when they received the ball, they were
to press the right button to throw to the player on their
right, and the left button to throw to the player on their
left.
• When the game was over (approximately 4 min later),
participants completed questionnaires assessing their selfreported anger. And a second saliva sample.
PETERSON AND HARMON-JONES
2011. ANGER AND TESTOSTERONE:
EVIDENCE THAT SITUATIONALLYINDUCED ANGER
RELATES TO SITUATIONALLY-INDUCED
TESTOSTERONE
Results/Discussion:
•
As predicted, an increase in testosterone was associated with
greater anger.
•
The present research provides the first evidence demonstrating
that testosterone relates to the subjective experience of anger.
These results concur with distinct theories that posit that
anger and testosterone are associated with attempts to exert
power, control, and dominance over others.
•
In the case of ostracism, in which basic needs such as
belonging and control are threatened anger may fuel behaviors
directed at regaining a sense of control over the social
situation. Consistently, angry responses to ostracism have been
shown to relate to approach motivated patterns of relative left
frontal cortical activity, which may also aid in attempts at
regaining social control
PETERSON AND HARMON-JONES
2011. ANGER AND TESTOSTERONE:
EVIDENCE THAT SITUATIONALLYINDUCED ANGER
RELATES TO SITUATIONALLY-INDUCED
TESTOSTERONE
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Testosterone/anger
-2.50
testosterone
PETERSON AND HARMON-JONES
2011. ANGER AND TESTOSTERONE:
EVIDENCE THAT SITUATIONALLYINDUCED ANGER
RELATES TO SITUATIONALLY-INDUCED
TESTOSTERONE
Questions:
•
•
•
•
What about the research methods? Are they precise, has
the study enough validity which means is it measuring
what it claims to do? Is it really anger they are
meausuring?
What about the hormone. Read about hormones in CC.
Gender differences and testosterone? And the PoS.
What’s your opinion concerning testosterone and
aggression: is it a bidirectional relation or is one of them
the independent variable?
KOSFELD 2005
OXYTOCIN INCREASES TRUST IN
HUMANS.
Background:
•
•
•
•
Trust is important in all human societies – it is the basis of
all cooperative endeavors such as trade as well as being the
foundation of family life.
But mammals, such as humans, also have a propensity to
insist on personal space and personal interest, so that any
infringement is associated with unpleasant emotions such
as fear and anger.
Oxytocin has recently been discovered to be connected to
the formation of social attachments in romantic and
friendship relationships.
It is also important in child-birth, and may be important in
the establishment of mother-child attachment after birth.
KOSFELD 2005
OXYTOCIN INCREASES TRUST IN
HUMANS.
Aim:
•
Kosfeld wanted to investigate the role that oxytocin plays in
establishing trustful relationships between humans, and to
make this influence distinct from overall increase in risktaking behavior.
KOSFELD 2005
OXYTOCIN INCREASES TRUST IN
HUMANS.
Results:
•
Data analysis showed a statistically significant difference
between the oxytocin group and the placebo group when it
came to investing money with a human trustee, but not in a
computer trustee.
KOSFELD 2005
OXYTOCIN INCREASES TRUST IN
HUMANS.
Conclusion:
•
Kosfeld concluded that Oxytocin causes increased trust,
rather than increased general risk taking, in human
subjects.
KOSFELD 2005
OXYTOCIN INCREASES TRUST IN
HUMANS.
Questions:
•
Kosfeld
KLINESMITH 2006. GUNS,
TESTOSTERONE, AND AGGRESSION: AN
EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF A MEDIATIONAL
HYPOTHESIS
Background:
•
•
•
Many studies have shown a connection between levels of
testosterone and aggression in animals.
Studies have also supported the link between testosterone
and competitive behaviour in humans.
There is also substantial evidence that the presence of a
gun increases aggressive behaviour, but no research had
previously linked guns, testosterone, and aggression.
KLINESMITH 2006. GUNS,
TESTOSTERONE, AND AGGRESSION: AN
EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF A MEDIATIONAL
HYPOTHESIS
Aim:
•
Klinesmith et al. hypothesized that testosterone acts as a
mediator – a connecting and enabling link – between guns
and aggression.
KLINESMITH 2006. GUNS,
TESTOSTERONE, AND AGGRESSION: AN
EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF A MEDIATIONAL
HYPOTHESIS
Method:
• Subjects were told that they would participate in an
experiment on taste perception.
• They were first led to a room (one by one) where the
experimental group subjects were presented with a
machine gun (a very realistic toy model) and told to
disassemble and then reassemble it according to a the
directions on a paper on the table.
• The control group subjects were instead presented with a
complicated children’s game which they were also told to
assemble and disassemble.
• Saliva samples were collected at Time 1, before the
handling of the gun/children’s game, and at Time 2,
afterwards.
KLINESMITH 2006. GUNS,
TESTOSTERONE, AND AGGRESSION: AN
EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF A MEDIATIONAL
HYPOTHESIS
Method:
•
•
After a fixed time, the researchers said that it was time for
the taste perception test. Subjects were presented with a
glass of water in which a drop of hot sauce had been added.
They were told that this had been prepared by the previous
participant, and asked to rate the taste intensity.
They were then asked to prepare the glass for the next
participant using a glass of water and however much they
wanted of the hot sauce. They were told this would be
completely anonymously and the researcher left while the
subject added the hot sauce. The researchers then took the
glass away and measured the change in weight – thereby
ascertaining the amount of hot sauce the subject had added.
KLINESMITH 2006. GUNS,
TESTOSTERONE, AND AGGRESSION: AN
EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF A MEDIATIONAL
HYPOTHESIS
Results:
•
•
•
subjects who interacted with the handgun showed more of
an increase in testosterone from Time 1 to Time 2 (Mean
change = 62.05 pg/ml) than did those who interacted with
the children’s game (Mean change = 0.68 pg/ml).
Subjects who interacted with the gun added more hot sauce
to the water (M = 13.61) than did those who interacted with
the children’s toy (M = 4.23 grams).
Finally, the amount of hot sauce placed in the cup was
positively correlated with changes in testosterone level (r =
.64).
KLINESMITH 2006. GUNS,
TESTOSTERONE, AND AGGRESSION: AN
EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF A MEDIATIONAL
HYPOTHESIS
Conclusion:
•
the researchers conclude that aggression is increased by
handling a gun, and that this increase in aggression
happens because testosterone is increased.
KLINESMITH 2006. GUNS,
TESTOSTERONE, AND AGGRESSION: AN
EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF A MEDIATIONAL
HYPOTHESIS
Questions:
•
Why is testosterone increased by handling a gun?
•
Why is aggression increased by handling a gun?
•
Can we be sure that adding hot sauce is an aggressive act?
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Background:
• Positive and supportive social relationships are essential
for health and well-being, acting as a buffer against the
impact of social stress
• Social support is consistently shown to confer beneficial
physiological effects on cardiovascular, endocrine, and
immune systems.
• However, instances of social isolation, exclusion, or social
rejection from any social relationship can be devastating.
Long-term social rejection increases the risk of
psychosomatic and related psychosocial problems
• Furthermore, long-term social rejection has been linked to
antisocial behaviors, depression, anxiety, feelings of
alienation, suicidal ideation, and aggression
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Background:
•
Both observationally and experimentally, research has
found that exclusion increases stress and associated
salivary cortisol reactivity and shifts in negative emotional
states.
•
Growing recognition of the specialized sociomotivational
systems within the mammalian brain has highlighted a
role for the neuropeptide and hormone oxytocin (OT) as a
key regulator for the processing of social information.
• It has been suggested that OT may moderate the outcomes
associated with negative emotional states, stress, and
anxiety. For example, intranasal OT increases prosocial
behaviors in humans, such as increasing gaze to eye regions
of faces, trust, emotion, recognition, cooperation and social
memory.
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Aim:
•
These findings, taken together, suggest that OT may
reduce the negative consequences of social stress and
anxiety. Although social stress tasks have been employed
previously, no study has yet examined whether OT may
moderate the negative consequences of an explicitly overt
social stressor, with no positive social cues present.
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Hypothesis:
•
This study investigated whether OT may buffer against
subjective and behavioral responses to social ostracism
during a ball-tossing game. We hypothesized that OT may
act as a general buffer against social stress and therefore
reduce the negative experiences of ostracism.
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Method/Participants:
•
•
•
Seventy-four healthy men (n 37) and women (n 37)
recruited from the University of Sydney (age 18–53 years,
M 21.91, SD 5.93).
Exclusion was determined by a self report medical
interview with a trained experimenter, and a pregnancy
test administered onsite for all females. Exclusion criteria
included pregnancy/breastfeeding, current symptoms of
depression, panic attacks, psychosis, epilepsy, or substance
dependence.
After providing consent, participants were randomly
assigned in a double-blind manner to receive OT or placebo
and then randomly assigned to an ostracism or inclusion in
a ball tossing game.
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
The ball tossing game:
•
The Cyberball Task is a virtual ball-tossing game presented
within an Internet web browser on a standard 24” computer
screen. The game consists of two cartoon icons representing
other virtual players “online” that toss the ball back and
forth to each other and the participant. Participants were
either included (thrown one third of ball throws) or
ostracized (thrown twice initially and then ignored).
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Results:
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Discussion:
•
•
The present study investigated the effects of OT on initial
acute reactions to ostracism. Results replicated previous
ostracism research by showing that cyber-ostracism had a
damaging impact on fundamental needs: belonging,
selfesteem, meaningful existence, control, and negative
affect.
They also found that socially included participants given
OT reported an increased desire to play the game again
with the virtual participants.
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Questions:
•
•
Can we trust that oxytocin always brings us a positive
social approach or is OT dependent related which means
that the positive effect only comes when there is social
reason to be postive?
How about the ecological validity in this case?
ALVARES, GAIL ET AL. 2010. ACUTE
EFFECTS OF INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN ON
SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES TO SOCIAL REJECTION
Questions:
•
•
Can we trust that oxytocin always brings us a positive
social approach or is OT dependent related which means
that the positive effect only comes when there is social
reason to be postive?
How about the ecological validity in this case?