Transient shifts in testosterone occur during competition and are thought to positively influence dominance behavior aimed at enhancing social status. However, individual differences in testosterone reactivity to status contests have not been well-studied in relation to real-time expressions of competitive behavior among men and women. This research tests the association between changes in endogenous testosterone levels during competition and performance in terms of competitive endurance. Participant sex, social presence, and relative status outcomes (e.g., winning vs. losing) are tested as moderators of this relationship. In two studies, men and women (total N = 398) competed in the competitive will task (timed weight-holding) either individually or in the presence of an opponent (Study 1) or as a team with and without the presence of a competitor team (Study 2). Results showed a positive relationship between testosterone reactivity and performance for men, particularly those who won or ranked highest among their group - with increasing testosterone predicting better performance and decreasing testosterone predicting worse performance. For women, the effect only emerged among individuals who competed in dyads and lost. In Study 2, an exploratory mediation analysis revealed that individual differences in trait dominance predicted both testosterone reactivity to competition and task performance, with testosterone reactivity (moderated by sex and status outcome) partially explaining the direct relationship between dominance-related traits and behavior. Our goal was to examine testosterone reactivity in relation to real-time competitive effort and highlight the potential role of this relationship in explaining how individual differences in trait dominance produce competitive behavior.

中文翻译：

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睾丸激素对男性和女性竞争和竞争耐力的反应性。

睾丸激素在比赛期间会发生短暂变化，被认为会对旨在提高社会地位的主导行为产生积极影响。但是，关于男性和女性之间竞争行为的实时表达，对于状态竞赛中睾丸激素反应性的个体差异尚未得到很好的研究。这项研究测试了比赛期间内源性睾丸激素水平的变化与比赛耐力方面的表现之间的关系。参与者的性别，社交状态和相对地位的结果（例如，胜利与失败）将作为这种关系的主持人进行测试。在两项研究中 男女（总计N = 398）参加了竞争性遗嘱任务（定时举重），无论是单独参加还是在对手的陪同下进行（研究1），或者在有或没有竞争对手的情况下作为团队参加（研究2） ）。结果显示，男性的睾丸激素反应性与表现之间存在正相关关系，尤其是那些在小组中获胜或排名最高的男性-睾丸激素升高预示性能更好，而睾丸激素降低则预示性能较差。对于女性而言，这种影响只出现在参加双子集并输掉比赛的个人中。在研究2中，一项探索性调解分析表明，性格优势的个体差异既可以预测睾丸激素对竞争的反应性，也可以预测任务的执行情况，睾丸激素的反应性（由性别和状态结果控制）部分地解释了与优势有关的性格与行为之间的直接关系。我们的目标是检查与实时竞争努力有关的睾丸激素反应性，并强调这种关系在解释性格优势的个体差异如何产生竞争行为方面的潜在作用。