Browse: Home / Hormones / Testosterone / Collaborating ? Testosterone is the elephant in the room

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Better Body Chemistry School
  • Book a health conversation
  • Speaking query
  • The “Big” Spoons
Header image

BBC

Small things can make a big difference to your health

advertisement

Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Free Resources
    • 31 days to Better Body Chemistry
    • Willpower Report
    • Weight loss e-course
    • Better Body Chemistry for Expecting Moms
    • The ups and downs of insulin resistance
    • Candy Floss Boards
    • Weight tracker
  • Library
  • Shop
  • Lucky dip
  • Sound bites
  • Buy me a coffee
  • Contact

Collaborating ? Testosterone is the elephant in the room

Posted by Dr Sandy on in Testosterone | 233 Views | 1 Response
WhatsApp
Reddit
Share
More
Tweet
Pin
Share

testosterone causing a cat fight in the boardroomDoing things in groups is considered to be a good way of doing things. In principal, the input of more than one person’s thinking, should produce BETTER thinking.

But, how good the thinking ends up being, is more than just the sum of the IQ in the room, the hormonal mileau COUNTS.

Researchers from University College in London, discovered when women get together to have a pow wow – the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM is testosterone.

The selfish brain

Collaborating can harness collective intelligence, lifting the group above the individual IQs in the room, BUT collaborating can also produce some seriously flawed thinking.

Groupthink can be dumb think.

Most thinking on this topic, focuses on creating harmony and collaboration assuming everyone is interested in the higher good.

But lets be perfectly honest, few people really care about the greater good, we’re driven by self-interests. Our brain is always asking – WHAT IS IN IT FOR ME !

Sweet or spicy ?

Oxytocin is the touchy feely hormone – higher levels definitely produce a working together mindset.

Women, naturally have more of the stuff, since oxytocin is strongly associated with motherhood. But when women leave the nursery for the board room, oxytocin levels drop and testosterone levels spike.

So are coporate women less sweet and more spicy ?

Working together as a team

Reseachers explored how well female volunteers were able to collaborate.

17 pairs of female volunteers who didn’t know each other at all, were asked to work as a team on two different occasions, a week a part. The catch, they were given a little pharmacological help – on one occasion, the volunteers swallowed a testosterone pill prior to the encounter, on the other occasion, they swallowed a little sugar.

As part of the experiment, they sat in the same room, peering at individual screens; the ladies were shown the same thing. They were tasked with identifying a designated target on the screen. They had to both agree on the position of the target, in order to continue.

Pussy cats and cat fights

At the start of the session – identifying the target was very easy. But as the session progressed, it became increasingly difficult requiring collaborative decisions.

As expected, the two women’s ability to choose the right target was enhanced when they discussed it and reached a joint decision.

On the day when they took the sugar pill (placebo).

But on the day they were loaded up with testosterone, the ability to make GOOD decisions was seriously compromised.

I can’t possibly be wrong

The presence of testosterone caused the women to act more egocentrically i.e. they never really considered the other person’s point of view at all.

Because …………….

They were CLEARLY RIGHT !

Hormones and decisions

Fortunately, most of the time, we manage to tuck our egos away long enough to find the best solution.

But testosterone is always in the picture, a little in “normal” ladies and a lot in “normal” gents.

If you’re attempting to make the best decision – keep your eye out for that alpha male or alpha female, driven by hormones, they’ll bully you into deciding the same way they’re thinking.

And if you’re the one running on a testosterone overload – LISTEN. You may, just may, not be RIGHT !

Body chemistry in the board room

Hormones definitely impact our behaviour. They’re running more than our bodies, they’re running our families, our businesses, our lives.

Body chemistry IS the elephant in the room. Make sure the elephant is not trampling the profits in your business / life.

PS. Watch out for decisions made by sleep deprived individuals too – there is a good chance they won’t be smart moves either. 

Testosterone disrupts human collaboration by increasing egocentric choices. Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2012) Nicholas D. Wright, Bahador Bahrami, Emily Johnson, Gina Di Malta, Geraint Rees, Christopher D. Frith, Raymond J. Dola.
 

Interested in learning more about the elephant in the room i.e. bad body chemistry  ?

Subcribe to E-spoons, to get e-mail updates once a month to learn how to keep your body chemistry balanced.

View previous E-spoons.

Close

NOTE : Privacy & spam policy. Spoonful of Science will not rent, trade or sell the e-mail list to anyone. You can unsubscribe at any time by following the unsubscribe link.

Know someone who will find this post useful ? Share it on facebook, linkedin, twitter

Further reading

brainbladder Mali menstruation hut
Fighting aliens in the living room is good for the brain For big decisions bringing in the bladder to “help” the brain is best Can’t Focus? Maybe It’s the Wrong Time of the Month

The 7 Big Spoons™…. are master switches that turn health on.

balance eicosanoids rein in insulin dial down stress sleep vitamin D microflora think
Balance Eicosanoids Rein in insulin Dial down stress Sleep ! Increase Vit D Culivate microflora Think champion

Hire Dr Sandy from a Spoonful of Science to be the keynote speaker at your next event.

Did you learn something new or do you have a different perspective ? I’d love to hear from you so post me a comment below

Share Button
WhatsApp
Reddit
Share
More
Tweet
Pin
Share
Posted in Testosterone | Tagged board room, brain, cats, corporate women, selfish, Testosterone, thinking

Connect with us

facebook you tube pinterest 40 google plus 40 Linkedin

FEELING….

sign posts then you need better body chemistry.

Grab our free E-course

“31 days to better body chemistry”

The advice is simple to follow and based on REAL science, not hype

Need more information ? Click here

  • Popular
  • Featured
  • Recent
  • asprosin the sugar plum fairy

    Why sugar levels are high despite NOT eating

    20091 views / Posted
  • poop getting stuck

    The fix for constipation is to go on a low fibre diet

    19390 views / Posted
  • oatmeal breakfast being beaten by egg

    Which is a better breakfast, egg or oatmeal ?

    18940 views / Posted
  • chewing gum relieving postoperative ileus

    A stick of chewing gum gets the gut going after surgery

    16677 views / Posted
  • carbonated water bubbles fill you up

    Fizzing up the water flattens your appetite

    15472 views / Posted
  • sun extracting cholesterol

    Make sure you have your “annual” check-up in the summer time

    / Dr Sandy
  • sending your kid to bootcamp won't stop childhood obesity

    Moving more won’t stop your kid from getting fat

    / Dr Sandy
  • cholesterol at the scene of the accident

    Bone cells are stiffening up your arteries not cholesterol

    / Dr Sandy
  • brain size the problem in ADHD

    Are kids with ADHD just acting according to their brain age

    / Dr Sandy
  • plastering the blood vessel with calcium

    Calcium supplements are building bones and breaking hearts

    / Dr Sandy
  • acetylcholine offering a flower as insulin knocks on door

    Improving sugar control requires better pipes NOT MORE INSULIN

    / Dr Sandy
  • If you’re glucose intolerant ALWAYS carry an apple with you for EMERGENCIES

    / Dr Sandy
  • sandman whipping up a fall asleep potion

    Hot eyes fall asleep faster

    / Dr Sandy
  • HOT or COLD – which is better metabolically speaking ?

    / Dr Sandy
  • A eye healthy diet should include eggs

    / Dr Sandy

RSS Recent posts

Dr Sandy Dr Sandy Evans, PhD

Located in Johannesburg, South Africa

Book an appointment with Spoonful of Science using SetMore
Disclaimer : The stories and articles are provided as a service. Dr Sandy's opinions are for information only, and are not intended to diagnose or prescribe. For your specific diagnosis and treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.
 
 

Connect with Dr Sandy

facebook 40
you tube 40
pinterest 40
google plus 40
linkedin 40
meetup 40
 

Categories

Featured posts

  • asprosin the sugar plum fairy

    Why sugar levels are high despite NOT eating

    20091 views / Posted
  • poop getting stuck

    The fix for constipation is to go on a low fibre diet

    19390 views / Posted
  • oatmeal breakfast being beaten by egg

    Which is a better breakfast, egg or oatmeal ?

    18940 views / Posted
 

©2011-2022 Spoonful of Science

Menu

  • Meet Dr Sandy
  • Disclosure/disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Comment policy
  • Contact
Redirect Stakk
Thank You

Beat your SUGAR CRAVINGS, using biology, NOT psychology

Download our FREE REPORT entitled, "How to get the Willpower you Need to Trump Sugar's Power"

  • Do you have a sugar gremlin ?
  • Discover the biology behind sugar gremlins
  • Learn about the 10 weapons you can use to TAME YOUR SUGAR GREMLIN

Get instant access

WhatsApp
Reddit
Share
More
Tweet