Re-examining the issues: A response to Archer et al.
Section snippets
Addressing the issues
Archer et al. (2005) correctly point out some citation errors in our review of the literature. We mistakenly cited Turner (1994) when we should have cited Olweus (1986), and that we erroneously cited Mazur (1983) as an empirical study when it was, in fact, a book chapter. We also misinterpreted a graph in Daly and Wilson (1988). We stated that boys between 12 and 25 were responsible for most violent acts, when in fact the graph given by Daly and Wilson suggests that the age range is from 15 to
Problems with Archer et al.'s re-analysis of the data
We have three issues with the review and analysis done by Archer et al. (2005): 1) inconsistency in choices and execution of decision rules, 2) a narrow definition of aggression, and 3) incompleteness in their moderator analysis.
Archer et al. (2005) were inconsistent in following the decision rules that they described. More specifically, they chose to use effect sizes for hostility in some studies (e.g., Ehrenkranz et al., 1974, Monti et al., 1977), but not in others (Houser, 1979). Also, they
Re-analysis
After decisions were made regarding the inclusion of effect sizes for re-analysis, 40 studies remained, with 53 independent effect sizes. Table 1 lists the study characteristics for all effect sizes used in the analyses. The average weighted and unweighted effect sizes were very similar to our original analysis (r = .13 and r = .19, weighted and unweighted, respectively), implying that the relationship between testosterone and aggression is small and positive. The set of effect sizes was found to
Conclusions
The results bear out our original claim that there is a small, positive relationship between testosterone and aggression. This relationship is moderated by age (in males) and time of day, as in the original analysis. This suggests that our recommendations to collect data with younger participants (past puberty) and to measure testosterone in the afternoon were valid.
In the re-analysis, method of hormone measurement (saliva vs. serum) was a significant moderator, where it was not in the original
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An exploratory analysis of testosterone, cortisol, and aggressive behavior type in men and women
2021, Biological PsychologyAndrogens and offending behavior: Evidence based on multiple self-reported measures of prenatal and general testosterone exposure
2021, Personality and Individual DifferencesCitation Excerpt :In other words, studies based on testosterone present in single assays of blood, saliva, or even the amniotic fluid before birth is likely to provide weak evidence of testosterone's influence on brain functioning (Richards et al., 2019). Evidence of weak effects is indeed what most studies have indicated regarding effects on offending behavior (Book & Quinsey, 2005; Ellis et al., 2019; Yildirim & Derksen, 2012). On the other hand, studies in which testosterone exposure was inferred based on indirect measures of long-term exposure, such as the degree of muscularity and physical strength, have provided stronger support for the testosterone-influence hypothesis, especially among males (Ellis, L., Beaver, K. M., & Wright, 2009:341–342).
Individual differences in risk taking and endogeneous levels of testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol: A systematic literature search and three independent meta-analyses
2018, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Crucially, although there have been a number of studies investigating these links, extant summaries do not allow us to fully assess the role of hormones in determining risk preference. Some meta-analyses have focused on related outcomes, such as aggression and testosterone (Archer et al., 2005; Book and Quinsey et al., 2005; Book et al., 2001) but it is unclear whether the small positive links found can also be found for non-aggressive risk taking and its underlying traits or whether they generalize to other hormones. Before we introduce our efforts to close this research gap, we give a brief overview of the main hormones that have been investigated in the context of risk taking and risk preference and, consequently, are the target of our systematic literature search and meta-analyses (Apicella et al., 2015; Cashdan, 1995; Mehta et al., 2015): testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol.
Linking testosterone and antisocial behavior in at-risk transitional aged youth: Contextual effects of parentification
2018, PsychoneuroendocrinologyCitation Excerpt :Consistent with findings from animal studies (e.g., Allee et al., 1939; Beeman, 1947; Svare, 1983), research with prison inmates suggests that higher testosterone levels may be associated with violence (Dabbs et al., 1995; Dabbs and Hargrove, 1997; Dabbs et al., 2001). Meta-analyses, however, reveal that the direct bivariate association between testosterone and aggression in humans is weak at best (Archer et al., 2005; Book and Quinsey, 2005; Book et al., 2001). In an effort to explain the discrepancy between the animal and human literatures, researchers have proposed that testosterone’s links with behavior are with dominance instead of aggression in humans (Mazur and Booth, 1998).
Digit ratio (2D:4D) moderates the relationship between cortisol reactivity and self-reported externalizing behavior in young adolescent males
2015, Biological PsychologyCitation Excerpt :A meta-analysis of child and adolescent studies reported no association between cortisol reactivity and externalizing behavior (r = − .04, p > .05) and only a small relationship between basal cortisol and externalizing behavior (r = − .05, p < .05; Alink et al., 2008). Although a meta-analysis showed a stronger association between testosterone and aggression (r = .13, p < .01), there was significant heterogeneity in effect sizes across studies (Book, Starzyk, & Quinsey, 2001; Book & Quinsey, 2005), suggesting that there may be factors that moderate this relationship. A large body of research has examined social context, including family and peer relationships, as moderators of the relationship between hormones and behavior problems (Booth, Johnson, Granger, Crouter, & McHale, 2003; Rowe, Maughan, Worthman, Costello, & Angold, 2004).
Endogenous testosterone and cortisol jointly influence reactive aggression in women
2013, PsychoneuroendocrinologyCitation Excerpt :However, testosterone and cortisol concentrations are also responsive to chronic and immediate social experiences. Although the link between testosterone and aggression is robust in animals (Brain and Haug, 1992), evidence for this relationship in humans can be inconsistent (Book et al., 2001; Archer et al., 2005; Book and Quinsey, 2005; Eisenegger et al., 2011). As men generally have higher concentrations of testosterone than women (McDermott et al., 2007), the majority of the testosterone-aggression literature has focused on men (Virkkunen, 1985; Dabbs and Morris, 1990; Gray et al., 1991; Berman et al., 1993; Popma et al., 2007; Mehta and Josephs, 2010).