Trait Anxiety Moderates the Relationship Between Testosterone Responses to Competition and Aggressive Behavior

• Published in: Adaptive human behavior and physiology Vol. 1; no. 3; pp. 312 - 324
• Main Authors: Norman, Rachel E., Moreau, Benjamin J. P., Welker, Keith M., Carré, Justin M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aggression; Aggressive behavior; Aggressiveness; Anthropology; Anxiety; Behavior; Behavioral Sciences; Biological Psychology; Competition; Computer & video games; Evolutionary Biology; Human Physiology; Neurosciences; Original Article; Social Sciences; Testosterone; Women; Testosterone; Human competition; Dominance; Trait anxiety; Aggression
• ISSN: 2198-7335; 2198-7335
• DOI: 10.1007/s40750-014-0016-y

Testosterone (T) concentrations change rapidly in the context of human competition, and these changes in neuroendocrine function may serve to modulate future aggressive behavior. However, an increase in T during competition does not translate into aggressive behavior among all individuals. Here, we examined the extent to which individual differences in trait anxiety moderate the relationship between T responses to competition and aggressive behavior. Across two studies, we found that T responses to competition were positively correlated with subsequent aggression, but only among men scoring relatively low in trait anxiety. Trait anxiety did not moderate the relationship between T reactivity and aggression in women. These findings highlight the importance of considering individual difference in trait anxiety when examining the neuroendocrine correlates of human aggression.