MEN WITH HIGHER TESTOSTERONE LEVELS ARE LESS LIKELY TO
“GO WITH THE FLOW.“
In a time where social change has become the norm of the day, many scientists are trying to quantify the factors that make up the type of people who are most likely to lead. PsyPost.org (a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society) published findings from a study that attempted to define the role that Testosterone (specifically Basal Testosterone) plays in building leaders in society. “Important social changes often begin with a few individuals holding novel, unpopular opinions. However, holding such minority positions runs contrary to many psychosocial tendencies in humans that lead us to “go with the flow” and adopt or defend views held by the majority.” For Texas men, not following along with the crowd and holding an unpopular opinion is pretty much a lifestyle.
WHY SOME MEN DON’T GIVE AN F*
Throughout history, certain individuals have “adopted minority opinions despite the social risk.” In other words, they didn’t care what anyone else said and did what they believed. A study at the University of Hildesheim in Germany attempted to identify Testosterone’s role as a “social hormone” in position-taking. One reason for this is that minority positions are often perceived as being riskier in a social sense. If you’re right, being “the only one who knew better” can have great benefits. But if your wrong, you can be perceived as even more foolish because it was easy to see that the majority was right. The inverse is also true: Taking the majority position carries lower social risk, because whether right or wrong, you don’t stand out in the crowd. In this study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, 250 adults (160 females, 90 males) were recruited to participate in what they thought was a study on how hormones impacted the ability to process text. In one experiment, the group was presented with a persuasive pitch regarding a new construction project. Sometimes, they were told that 85% of the population favored it; other times, they were told that 15% of the people favored it.
RISK-TAKING AND BUCKING THE NORM
For a long time, Basal Testosterone (BT) has been associated with risk-taking and what researchers call “immunity to social influence.” Dr. Joseph and the team expected people in their study with higher BT to have a greater tendency to adopt minority positions when compared to those with average or low BT. But what they were really looking to understand was if this behavior was driven more by a willingness to take risks or more about disregarding social norms that drove their decisions. As expected, the results indicated that high BT individuals are more likely to adopt minority positions than low BT individuals. More importantly, however, the results indicated that individuals with high BT do not ignore or disregard the risks, but they actually recognized the risks associated with a minority position – and opted for them anyway. “Boldly rolling the social dice” is how PhsPost described it. The team theorized that if someone with high Testosterone disregarded the decision’s social aspects, then that person should be no more likely to agree or disagree with the majority decision. Their findings, however, showed a clear connection between the subject with higher BT being more likely to take a minority position than low BT individuals. The article, “Basal Testosterone Renders Individuals More Receptive to Minority Positions”, was authored by M. Germar and A. Mojzisch.
TESTOSTERONE AND POSITIONS OF STATUS
In 2015, another research team at Harvard University conducted a study to determine the role that Testosterone played in high-ranking executives’ lives. The team, which included UT psychology professor Dr. Robert Josephs (of course they needed a Texan), started from the premise that “…social position matters: For better or worse, those at the top of hierarchies—whether alpha male baboons or corporate CEOs—have a disproportionate influence on groups and organizations (Dávid-Barrett, & Dunbar, 2012). Thus, it is important to determine the factors influencing who attains high-status social roles.” The study included 78 male executives aged 33–65 from the government, military, law enforcement, and defense sectors who enrolled in the Harvard executive education program. Participants each provided a saliva sample for testing and were asked questions about how many people work for (under) them in various formats. Their findings indicated that men with higher testosterone levels were more likely to have more subordinates. And not surprisingly, those with lower T-Levels were likely to occupy lower status positions. The study also indicated a strong correlation between high T-Levels and low Cortisol levels in the higher status executives. “As predicted, Testosterone was positively associated with attained status—the number of subordinates over which an executive has authority—but only for low-cortisol executives. More specifically, high-testosterone, low-cortisol executives were particularly likely to occupy high-status positions whereas low Testosterone, low-cortisol executives were particularly likely to occupy lower status positions.” These results confirmed earlier research published by Dr. Josephs in 2010. “These are hormonal fingerprints of successful leaderships,” Josephs said. “It’s not about how good of a leader you think you are; rather, it’s an objective measure of leadership success — how many subordinates you have under you.”
T-LEVELS AND SUCCESS
Higher T-Levels will not guarantee a better job, a better salary, or a swashbuckling ‘devil-may-care’ attitude. But there is evidence that they are often present in people who do have these things. The University of Hildesheim study mentioned earlier in this article concluded, “Given the importance of (having people who hold minority opinions) for innovation and change within societies, our results suggest that individuals with high levels of testosterone may play an important role as catalysts of social change.”
TESTOSTERONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY FOR MEN
For many men, the time they should be coming into their prime professionally is also when they begin to notice a drop in their Testosterone levels. Men’s Testosterone levels reach their peak in their late ’20s and begin to drop at a rate of 1-2% every year after that. That means that by the time you reach your 40th birthday, your body could be producing only 65-70% of the Testosterone you once did at your peak. But this doesn’t have to be that way. Texas Vitality has been created to help break down the barriers that separate men from being their best selves, offering several treatments designed to help improve your physical, emotional, and sexual wellness. We offer the latest in Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) and customized Anti-Aging HGH peptide treatments. Each treatment regimen is specifically designed for you based on a blood screening and thorough consultation with a Board-Certified urologist who has helped thousands of men regain that bounce in their step.
HOW DO I FIND TRT NEAR ME?
Finding Testosterone Replacement Therapy near you has never been easier. Texas Vitality makes it simple for men in Texas to get the help they need in a healthy, private and convenient way. We offer HIPPA-compliant telemedicine protocols that are discrete, safe, and help maintain social-distancing. Simply call our office, and we’ll set up a simple blood test at one of our lab site close to your home or work. We partner with the leading diagnostics labs, LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics, and have hundreds of locations all over Texas. Your results will be sent to our Medical Director – Board Certified Urologist, and men’s health expert – Dr. Michael Zachareas. “Dr. Z” will conduct an initial phone consultation with you and determine if TRT is right for you. If it is, he will create a custom TRT or HGH Peptide treatment program designed to meet your specific needs. With Texas Vitality, there are no needless return office visits and no long and embarrassing pharmacy lines because the treatment is delivered discretely to you, and you can administer it in the comfort and privacy of your own home. If getting back to feeling yourself with this safe, convenient, and discreet treatment sounds good to you, please call 214-499-9158 or email info@texasvitality.com today to find out how to take the next step!