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

Anna Dreber, Magnus Johannesson, Gideon Nave, Coren L. Apicella, Shawn N. Geniole, Taisuke Imai, Erik L. Knight, Dylan Manfredi, Pranjal H. Mehta, Valentina Proietti, Steven J. Stanton, Alina Zeltikova, Francesca R. Luberti, Triana Ortiz and Justin M. Carré ()
Additional contact information
Gideon Nave: c Marketing Department, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA 19104
Coren L. Apicella: d Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA 19104
Shawn N. Geniole: e Department of Psychology, University of the Fraser Valley , Abbotsford , BC V2S 7M8 , Canada
Taisuke Imai: f Institute of Social and Economic Research, The University of Osaka , Osaka 567-0047 , Japan
Erik L. Knight: g Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado , Boulder , CO 80309
Dylan Manfredi: c Marketing Department, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA 19104
Pranjal H. Mehta: h Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London , London WC1E 6BT , United Kingdom
Valentina Proietti: e Department of Psychology, University of the Fraser Valley , Abbotsford , BC V2S 7M8 , Canada
Steven J. Stanton: i Department of Management and Marketing, School of Business Administration, Oakland University , Rochester , MI 48309
Alina Zeltikova: j Department of Economics, University College London , London WC1H 0AN , United Kingdom
Francesca R. Luberti: k Department of Psychology, Nipissing University , North Bay , ON P1B 8L7 , Canada
Triana Ortiz: k Department of Psychology, Nipissing University , North Bay , ON P1B 8L7 , Canada
Justin M. Carré: k Department of Psychology, Nipissing University , North Bay , ON P1B 8L7 , Canada

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2025, vol. 122, issue 39, e2508519122

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.

Keywords: testosterone; economic preferences; replications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nas:journl:v:122:y:2025:p:e2508519122

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