Boosting testosterone makes men prefer higher-status
products
July 3,
2018
University
of Pennsylvania
Status symbols, like a
luxury car or brand-name denim, may not function any better than their
lower-status counterparts, but they do convey a message about the owner's
position on the social ladder. A new study found that a single dose of
testosterone was enough to boost men's preference for higher-status goods,
pointing to a biological basis for consumer behavior.
In the animal kingdom, males of certain
species possess flashy ornamentation that appears to do little to enhance their
survival; think of a peacock's long, heavy tail or a cardinal's eye-catching
red feathers. Similar signals can be seen in the human population. A luxury car
or watch, for example, may not-so-subtly convey the message that the owner has
money and is not afraid to spend it.
New findings from the largest study of its
kind, led by Gideon Nave, an assistant marketing professor at the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School, underscore a biological factor at play in the
choice of products conveying status: testosterone. Giving men a single dose of
testosterone increased their preference for higher-status goods.
The study supports previous research that
connects transient increases in testosterone levels to a rise in behaviors
aimed at boosting social rank.
"We found a small but consistent effect
on preferences," Nave says. "The findings need to be replicated, but
we used a sample size that is four or five times larger than what has been used
before, so we have more evidence than we've ever had that testosterone is affecting
these preferences."
While the study, published in Nature
Communications, measured the participants' preferences and positive
attitudes about products, not actual purchases, Nave says that the findings
serve as a foundation for forecasting consumer behavior.
In evolutionary biology, the presence of
seemingly impractical ornaments such as the peacock's tail or a stag's bulky
antlers are explained by what's known as the handicap principle. While these
displays would seem to diminish an animal's fitness, they serve to increase
their attractiveness to a potential partner, as they suggest an individual has
resources to spare and can thus afford to fritter away some on a frivolous
investment.
"The idea is these things are actually
handicaps that the animals put on themselves," Nave says, "and by
having them the animals show they are sufficiently fit to have these
handicaps."
One needn't look far to find the same patterns
in humans. A luxury product, say, a fancy watch, tells the same time as an
inexpensive digital one but also carries with it a signal of social status.
"In some ways this is similar to someone
driving a limo or a Hummer or a Ferrari," says Nave. "It's a way of
showing or signaling that you can afford to do so."
With a background in neuroscience and as a member
of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, Nave uses the tools of biology and
marketing to understand how people make decisions. A paper he published last
year found that a single dose of testosterone, a hormone that regulates a
variety of behaviors related to reproduction, caused men's performance on a
test of decision-making ability to worsen.
Other researchers, meanwhile, have linked
testosterone to status-enhancing behaviors in men, but previous studies had
been conducted using small groups and in some cases hadn't explicitly examined
the link to preference for status goods.
The current study was double-blinded and
randomized and used a larger sample size than earlier efforts, 243 men ages
18-55. Each participant received a gel to apply to his upper body; some gels
contained testosterone and others a placebo.
In one task, participants were shown two logos
of apparel brands selected to match their perceived quality but differ in
status, for example, higher-status Calvin Klein versus lower-status Levis.
Those who received a dose of testosterone were significantly more likely to
prefer the higher-status brands.
The second task presented participants with
descriptions of certain goods, such as watches, coffeemakers, and sunglasses,
as either power-enhancing, status-enhancing or high-quality and asked about
their attitudes toward the products. Here, too, men who received a testosterone
boost were more likely to express positive feelings about the items described
as status-enhancing, though there was no difference between the groups when the
goods were described as power-enhancing.
"We were trying to disentangle power from
status," Nave says. "Typically in the animal kingdom they go
together, but you can think of examples in human society where they don't. For
example, a border patrol agent has a lot of power but not status. And a famous
climate scientist may have a lot of status but little power."
Nave notes that testosterone naturally rises
in men in certain contexts, such as during and after sporting events, or
subsequent to major life events like a graduation or divorce. Marketers could
take advantage of these oscillations to tailor their marketing strategies to
these individuals. In addition, because such status-seeking behaviors can
exacerbate inequality if someone overspends on a status item when they can't
afford it, further understanding of the biological drivers of the behavior
could prove useful.
