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Investigating the effects of single-dose intranasal testosterone on economic preferences in a large randomized trial of men.

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Title: Investigating the effects of single-dose intranasal testosterone on economic preferences in a large randomized trial of men.
Authors: Dreber, Anna1,2 anna.dreber@hhs.se, Johannesson, Magnus1, Nave, Gideon3, Apicella, Coren L.4, Geniole, Shawn N.5, Taisuke Imai6, Knight, Erik L.7, Manfredi, Dylan3, Mehta, Pranjal H.8, Proietti, Valentina5, Stanton, Steven J.9, Zeltikova, Alina10, Luberti, Francesca R.11, Ortiz, Triana11, Carré, Justin M.11 justinca@nipissingu.ca
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 9/30/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 39, p1-12. 80p.
Subjects: Testosterone, Risk-taking behavior, Placebos, Individuals' preferences, Clinical trials, Males, Human behavior, Fairness
Abstract: There is conflicting evidence on whether testosterone affects economic preferences such as risk taking, fairness, and altruism, with most evidence coming from correlational studies or small testosterone administration studies. To credibly test this hypothesis, we conducted a large-scale, preregistered, double-blind randomized controlled trial with 1,000 male participants--10 to 20 times larger than typical prior studies. Participants were randomly allocated to receive a single dose of either placebo or intranasal testosterone, and carried out a series of economic tasks capturing social preferences, competitiveness, and risk preferences. We find no evidence of a treatment effect for any of our nine primary outcome measures, and no strong evidence of an association between basal salivary testosterone and economic preferences within men. These results fail to conceptually replicate previous high-impact publications reporting positive findings in smaller samples, calling into question the idea that short-term testosterone fluctuations are important drivers of men's economic preferences. Our results do not rule out the possibility that different effects might emerge under alternative dosages, administration protocols, or task timings, or that behavioral effects differ between men and women. The potential for developmental or long-term effects of testosterone also remains an open question for future research, though such effects are ethically challenging to investigate experimentally in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 188377352
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PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Data: Investigating the effects of single-dose intranasal testosterone on economic preferences in a large randomized trial of men.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dreber%2C+Anna%22">Dreber, Anna</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><i> anna.dreber@hhs.se</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Johannesson%2C+Magnus%22">Johannesson, Magnus</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nave%2C+Gideon%22">Nave, Gideon</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Apicella%2C+Coren+L%2E%22">Apicella, Coren L.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Geniole%2C+Shawn+N%2E%22">Geniole, Shawn N.</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Taisuke+Imai%22">Taisuke Imai</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Knight%2C+Erik+L%2E%22">Knight, Erik L.</searchLink><relatesTo>7</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Manfredi%2C+Dylan%22">Manfredi, Dylan</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mehta%2C+Pranjal+H%2E%22">Mehta, Pranjal H.</searchLink><relatesTo>8</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Proietti%2C+Valentina%22">Proietti, Valentina</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stanton%2C+Steven+J%2E%22">Stanton, Steven J.</searchLink><relatesTo>9</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zeltikova%2C+Alina%22">Zeltikova, Alina</searchLink><relatesTo>10</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Luberti%2C+Francesca+R%2E%22">Luberti, Francesca R.</searchLink><relatesTo>11</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ortiz%2C+Triana%22">Ortiz, Triana</searchLink><relatesTo>11</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Carré%2C+Justin+M%2E%22">Carré, Justin M.</searchLink><relatesTo>11</relatesTo><i> justinca@nipissingu.ca</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 9/30/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 39, p1-12. 80p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Testosterone%22">Testosterone</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Risk-taking+behavior%22">Risk-taking behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Placebos%22">Placebos</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Individuals'+preferences%22">Individuals' preferences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Clinical+trials%22">Clinical trials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Males%22">Males</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Human+behavior%22">Human behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fairness%22">Fairness</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: There is conflicting evidence on whether testosterone affects economic preferences such as risk taking, fairness, and altruism, with most evidence coming from correlational studies or small testosterone administration studies. To credibly test this hypothesis, we conducted a large-scale, preregistered, double-blind randomized controlled trial with 1,000 male participants--10 to 20 times larger than typical prior studies. Participants were randomly allocated to receive a single dose of either placebo or intranasal testosterone, and carried out a series of economic tasks capturing social preferences, competitiveness, and risk preferences. We find no evidence of a treatment effect for any of our nine primary outcome measures, and no strong evidence of an association between basal salivary testosterone and economic preferences within men. These results fail to conceptually replicate previous high-impact publications reporting positive findings in smaller samples, calling into question the idea that short-term testosterone fluctuations are important drivers of men's economic preferences. Our results do not rule out the possibility that different effects might emerge under alternative dosages, administration protocols, or task timings, or that behavioral effects differ between men and women. The potential for developmental or long-term effects of testosterone also remains an open question for future research, though such effects are ethically challenging to investigate experimentally in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1073/pnas.2508519122
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        Text: English
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