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How Your Friends Affect Your Testosterone Levels

Is your family home stopping you from pumping more iron? - by Alex Pierotti
  • 28 Jun 2018
How Your Friends Affect Your Testosterone Levels
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Wondering why you can't get those extra repetitions out or can't increase how much weight you're lifting? Your friends..or lack of might be to blame.

According to new findings published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, social prestige is linked with an increase in testosterone levels. 

“We were fascinated with the so-called ‘winner effect’ that have been observed in many different species, from insects, fish, to non-human primates,” says Joey T. Cheng, the corresponding author of the study and an assistant psychology professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

RELATED: 3 Steps To More Testosterone

“The winner effect refers to how an animal that has won a fight or some kind of competition is more likely to go on winning in subsequent encounters. Biologists have known about this for a very long time and have been wrestling with trying to understand how the winner effect comes about," continues Cheng.

"That is, how does a previous victory help an individual win again?”

Researchers analysed testosterone levels of 177 marching band members, surveying them on who they thought were the most successful, skilled, or respected members of their musical community.

Level Testosterone GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

After following the participants for 2 months, they found that male members of the marching band who ranked highly showed a rising testosterone levels over the following months.

Conversely, men with a lower social profile, showed a decline or little change in testosterone. 

“Our social experiences — such as the experiences of winning in a variety of different contexts that make us feel respected, admired, and proud — have far-reaching effects on our psychology and biology. The effects of these kinds of experiences have significant effects on our motivation, morale, and future success,” Cheng tells PsyPost.

“We found these effects of status-dependent testosterone changes in men only. By contrast, women’s status appeared to be unrelated to their prestige in the community. More work is needed on understanding how women compete for status and the physiological substrates that underlie women’s competitive encounters.”

If you are looking for other ways to increase your testosterone, we have a handy guide here. 

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Alex Pierotti
Alex Pierotti
Alex Pierotti is the Digital Content Editor for Men's Health Australia, with experience reporting on health, fitness and sport. With a Journalism degree from UNSW under his belt, he got his start working in TV, working on the live broadcast of the Intrust Super Shute Shield on 7TWO before making the switch to print and digital at Pacific Magazines.

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