The majority of studies examining the role of prenatal androgens on abnormal behavior have focused on developmental disorders showing large male to female ratios (i.e., autism and Tourette's Syndrome). There is a scarcity of research examining the role of prenatal sex hormones on female-linked disorders or disorders showing adult onset. This study is the first to evaluate the organizational and activational influences of sex hormones on adult levels of anxiety, while simultaneously examining previously reported hormone-behavior associations. In addition, this study explores the relation between prenatal and postnatal sex hormones and two other female-linked disorders, depression and borderline personality. As part of this study, participants (n = 110) completed a battery of psychopathology questionnaires, gender role measures, and spatial/cognitive tasks. Prenatal androgen levels were indirectly measured by means of the index to ring finger ratio (2D:4D), and testosterone and estrogen levels were obtained from saliva samples. Results replicate previously reported sex differences in anxiety and gendered behavior and confirm various hormone-behavior associations. More importantly, results provide preliminary evidence for the organizational role of prenatal androgens in two female-linked conditions, anxiety and borderline personality. Individuals with a higher (i.e., more feminine) 2D:4D reported greater symptoms of trait anxiety and borderline personality (i.e., affective instability), and this effect appeared to be strongest in males.

The majority of studies examining the role of prenatal androgens on abnormal behavior have focused on developmental disorders showing large male to female ratios (i.e., autism and Tourette's Syndrome). There is a scarcity of research examining the role of prenatal sex hormones on female-linked disorders or disorders showing adult onset. This study is the first to evaluate the organizational and activational influences of sex hormones on adult levels of anxiety, while simultaneously examining previously reported hormone-behavior associations. In addition, this study explores the relation between prenatal and postnatal sex hormones and two other female-linked disorders, depression and borderline personality. As part of this study, participants (n = 110) completed a battery of psychopathology questionnaires, gender role measures, and spatial/cognitive tasks. Prenatal androgen levels were indirectly measured by means of the index to ring finger ratio (2D:4D), and testosterone and estrogen levels were obtained from saliva samples. Results replicate previously reported sex differences in anxiety and gendered behavior and confirm various hormone-behavior associations. More importantly, results provide preliminary evidence for the organizational role of prenatal androgens in two female-linked conditions, anxiety and borderline personality. Individuals with a higher (i.e., more feminine) 2D:4D reported greater symptoms of trait anxiety and borderline personality (i.e., affective instability), and this effect appeared to be strongest in males.

This research explores whether male risk taking emerges as a sexual display strategy in the presence of attractive women. Experiments 1 to 3 explored whether young males reported and engaged in more risk taking after viewing pictures of highly attractive females. Possible self-control mechanisms were investigated via working memory, reversal learning, and Stroop tasks. In addition, second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) was measured as a proxy for individual differences in testosterone. Viewing pictures of highly attractive females led to greater self-reported risk-taking. 2D:4D was found to moderate the effect on risk-taking behaviours, with increases for high, but decreases for low testosterone males. Digit ratio also moderated the effects observed on the Stroop and reversal learning tasks. Experiments 4 and 5 extended these findings to examine how power interacts with testosterone to influence risk taking and inhibitory control. As testosterone is as-sociated with the pursuit of power and status (Dabbs & Dabbs, 2000), high testoster-one individuals primed with power were expected to have little reason to disrupt the status quo and thus should be risk-avoidant. Conversely, high-testosterone individuals primed with low power were expected to use risk taking as a vehicle for pursuing po-tential gains to their status and resources. The findings from two experiments are con-sistent with these predictions. In Experiment 1, higher testosterone males (as indicated by second–fourth digit ratio) showed greater risk-taking when primed with low power. Experiment 2 replicated this effect and also showed that when primed with high power, higher testosterone males took fewer risks. The influence of power on Stroop performance was also moderated by individual differences in testosterone. Par-ticipants primed with high power showed better Stroop performance if they were lower in testosterone, whereas participants primed with low power showed better Stroop performance if they were higher in testosterone. These results suggest that greater executive control accompanies but does not underlie enhanced risk taking, caused by testosterone and power. Finally, results from a field experiment (Experiment 6) with skateboarders demon-strate that physical risk taking by young male skateboarders increases in the presence of an attractive female. This increased risk taking led to more successes but also more crash landings in front of the female observer. Mediational analyses suggest that this increase in risk taking is caused in part by elevated testosterone levels of men who performed in front of the attractive female. In addition, skateboarders’ risk taking was predicted by their performance on a reversal-learning task, reversal-learning perform-ance was disrupted by the presence of the attractive female, and the female’s presence moderated the observed relationship between risk taking and reversal learning. These results suggest that men use physical risk taking as a sexual display strategy, and they provide suggestive evidence regarding possible hormonal and neural mechanisms.

This research explores whether male risk taking emerges as a sexual display strategy in the presence of attractive women. Experiments 1 to 3 explored whether young males reported and engaged in more risk taking after viewing pictures of highly attractive females. Possible self-control mechanisms were investigated via working memory, reversal learning, and Stroop tasks. In addition, second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) was measured as a proxy for individual differences in testosterone. Viewing pictures of highly attractive females led to greater self-reported risk-taking. 2D:4D was found to moderate the effect on risk-taking behaviours, with increases for high, but decreases for low testosterone males. Digit ratio also moderated the effects observed on the Stroop and reversal learning tasks. Experiments 4 and 5 extended these findings to examine how power interacts with testosterone to influence risk taking and inhibitory control. As testosterone is as-sociated with the pursuit of power and status (Dabbs & Dabbs, 2000), high testoster-one individuals primed with power were expected to have little reason to disrupt the status quo and thus should be risk-avoidant. Conversely, high-testosterone individuals primed with low power were expected to use risk taking as a vehicle for pursuing po-tential gains to their status and resources. The findings from two experiments are con-sistent with these predictions. In Experiment 1, higher testosterone males (as indicated by second–fourth digit ratio) showed greater risk-taking when primed with low power. Experiment 2 replicated this effect and also showed that when primed with high power, higher testosterone males took fewer risks. The influence of power on Stroop performance was also moderated by individual differences in testosterone. Par-ticipants primed with high power showed better Stroop performance if they were lower in testosterone, whereas participants primed with low power showed better Stroop performance if they were higher in testosterone. These results suggest that greater executive control accompanies but does not underlie enhanced risk taking, caused by testosterone and power. Finally, results from a field experiment (Experiment 6) with skateboarders demon-strate that physical risk taking by young male skateboarders increases in the presence of an attractive female. This increased risk taking led to more successes but also more crash landings in front of the female observer. Mediational analyses suggest that this increase in risk taking is caused in part by elevated testosterone levels of men who performed in front of the attractive female. In addition, skateboarders’ risk taking was predicted by their performance on a reversal-learning task, reversal-learning perform-ance was disrupted by the presence of the attractive female, and the female’s presence moderated the observed relationship between risk taking and reversal learning. These results suggest that men use physical risk taking as a sexual display strategy, and they provide suggestive evidence regarding possible hormonal and neural mechanisms.

This research explores whether male risk taking emerges as a sexual display strategy in the presence of attractive women. Experiments 1 to 3 explored whether young males reported and engaged in more risk taking after viewing pictures of highly attractive females. Possible self-control mechanisms were investigated via working memory, reversal learning, and Stroop tasks. In addition, second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) was measured as a proxy for individual differences in testosterone. Viewing pictures of highly attractive females led to greater self-reported risk-taking. 2D:4D was found to moderate the effect on risk-taking behaviours, with increases for high, but decreases for low testosterone males. Digit ratio also moderated the effects observed on the Stroop and reversal learning tasks. Experiments 4 and 5 extended these findings to examine how power interacts with testosterone to influence risk taking and inhibitory control. As testosterone is as-sociated with the pursuit of power and status (Dabbs & Dabbs, 2000), high testoster-one individuals primed with power were expected to have little reason to disrupt the status quo and thus should be risk-avoidant. Conversely, high-testosterone individuals primed with low power were expected to use risk taking as a vehicle for pursuing po-tential gains to their status and resources. The findings from two experiments are con-sistent with these predictions. In Experiment 1, higher testosterone males (as indicated by second–fourth digit ratio) showed greater risk-taking when primed with low power. Experiment 2 replicated this effect and also showed that when primed with high power, higher testosterone males took fewer risks. The influence of power on Stroop performance was also moderated by individual differences in testosterone. Par-ticipants primed with high power showed better Stroop performance if they were lower in testosterone, whereas participants primed with low power showed better Stroop performance if they were higher in testosterone. These results suggest that greater executive control accompanies but does not underlie enhanced risk taking, caused by testosterone and power. Finally, results from a field experiment (Experiment 6) with skateboarders demon-strate that physical risk taking by young male skateboarders increases in the presence of an attractive female. This increased risk taking led to more successes but also more crash landings in front of the female observer. Mediational analyses suggest that this increase in risk taking is caused in part by elevated testosterone levels of men who performed in front of the attractive female. In addition, skateboarders’ risk taking was predicted by their performance on a reversal-learning task, reversal-learning perform-ance was disrupted by the presence of the attractive female, and the female’s presence moderated the observed relationship between risk taking and reversal learning. These results suggest that men use physical risk taking as a sexual display strategy, and they provide suggestive evidence regarding possible hormonal and neural mechanisms.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2017-12-04T20:41:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ChristianCamiloGarciaLopez_DISSERT.pdf: 2196830 bytes, checksum: 3aec0c3604ab6bb915398d3380ba6a61 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-12-07T19:26:20Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ChristianCamiloGarciaLopez_DISSERT.pdf: 2196830 bytes, checksum: 3aec0c3604ab6bb915398d3380ba6a61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-07T19:26:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ChristianCamiloGarciaLopez_DISSERT.pdf: 2196830 bytes, checksum: 3aec0c3604ab6bb915398d3380ba6a61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-05 / O comportamento de risco est? sob influ?ncia de fatores neuropsicol?gicos, neuroend?crinos, sociais e individuais. O perfil hormonal, estados de humor, bem como status de relacionamento rom?ntico, sexo e idade est?o todos implicados neste comportamento. Embora ainda n?o haja um consenso claro sobre o quanto esses fatores modulam o processo de tomada de decis?o sob risco. O presente estudo avaliou o efeito de estados psicol?gicos, o envolvimento em um relacionamento rom?ntico, e testosterona (pr?-natal e ativa??o) e cortisol sobre o comportamento de risco; bem como a reatividade desses horm?nios no desempenho de uma tarefa de risco. Estudantes universit?rios entre os 21 e 30 anos (n = 49) participaram da investiga??o. O comportamento em rela??o ao risco foi medido utilizando uma escala de propens?o ao risco (EPR) e uma tarefa de tomada de decis?o sob risco, Columbia Card Task (CCT). Um efeito negativo foi encontrado entre uma baixa propor??o 2D:4D e a atitude em rela??o ao risco na dimens?o sa?de/seguran?a no EPR, quando a testosterona basal e o cortisol foram baixos ou altos. Enquanto, os participantes com alta propor??o 2D:4D, mostram um maior comportamento de risco no CCT, associado com altos n?veis de testosterona basal e baixos do cortisol. Um aumento na testosterona foi relacionado com um melhor desempenho, e menos tempo gasto no CCT. Estar envolvido em um relacionamento rom?ntico foi associado a uma maior avers?o ao risco no CCT. Os participantes com maior pontua??o para depress?o e ansiedade tinham uma atitude mais elevada em rela??o ao risco no CCT. Estes resultados sugerem que uma elevada exposi??o pr?-natal ? testosterona fortalece a atitude em rela??o ao risco, diminuindo o efeito activacional da testosterona e do cortisol, bem como a plasticidade comportamental, sugerindo que a testosterona activacional n?o ? cr?tica para a express?o deste tra?o comportamental. Por outro lado, n?veis mais baixos de testosterona pr?-natal permitem maiores efeitos da ativa??o hormonal e plasticidade comportamental dependendo do contexto. A reatividade da testosterona pode promover uma avers?o ao risco para obter um resultado mais favor?vel. Nossas descobertas suportam as descobertas de que estar envolvido em um relacionamento rom?ntico, est? relacionado com um maior risco assumindo comportamento em favor da sua aptid?o evolutiva. Tamb?m ? proposto que, em contextos de alto risco, os participantes com caracter?sticas mais depressivas e ansiosas podem levar a comportamentos mais arriscados. / Risk-taking behavior is influenced by neuropsychological, neuroendocrine, social and individual factors. However, there is still no clear consensus on the extent to which these factors modulate decision-making under risk. The present study evaluated the effect of psychological states, romantic partnership, testosterone (prenatal and activational) and cortisol on risk-taking behavior, as well as the reactivity of these hormones on the performance of a risk-taking task. University students aged between 21 and 30 years (n = 49) participated in the investigation. The behavior towards risk was measured using a self-reported risk propensity scale (RPS) and for the decision-making task under risk, the Columbia Card Task (CCT). A negative effect was found between a low 2D:4D ratio and the attitude towards risk in the health/safety dimension of the RPS, when basal testosterone and cortisol were either low or high. On the other hand participants with a high 2D:4D ratio show greater risk- taking behavior in the CCT, associated with high basal testosterone and low cortisol. An increase in testosterone was related to better performance and less time spent on the CCT. Being involved in a romantic relationship was associated with higher aversion to risk on the CCT. Participants with higher depression and anxiety scores had a greater attitude towards risk on the CCT. These results suggest that high prenatal testosterone exposure strengthens the attitude toward risk, decreasing the activational effect of testosterone and cortisol, as well as behavioral plasticity, suggesting that activational testosterone is not critical for the expression of this behavioral trait. However, lower levels of prenatal testosterone allow greater hormonal activational effects and behavioral plasticity depending on the context. Testosterone reactivity might promote aversion to risk to produce a more favorable outcome. Our findings show that being involved in a romantic relationship is related to being more prone to risk taking behavior in favor of evolutionary fitness. It is also proposed that in situations high-risk participants with more severe depressive and anxiety traits may lead to an increase in risky behavior. / 2018-10-01

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The second (index finger) to fourth (ring finger) digit length ratio (2D:4D) is known to be a putative marker of prenatal exposure to the testosterone. It has been reported that fetal testosterone may be critical for development of morphological and psychological traits such as quality of the cardiovascular system, visuo-spatial ability, risk-taking behavior and behavioral masculinity. Testosterone-driven attributes are associated with success in male-to- male physical competition, which may be proxied by ability in sports. Many studies have found that 2D:4D is sexually dimorphic and low (male-typical) 2D:4D ratio is associated with athletic performance. This study aims to investigate possible associations of performance in sport with 2D:4D ratio, personality characteristics (Big Five model), willing to take risks and training habits, in a sample of 57 top and 57 recreational snowboard racers. We did not find any associations between 2D:4D ratio and sport performance, no significant differences were found in 2D:4D ratio between samples. We found negative associations between agreeableness and sport performance; individuals with low agreeableness achieved higher results in the real competition of freestyle snowboarding. Low agreeableness used to be associated with aggressiveness, emulation and...

The field of entrepreneurship is rapidly advancing and matures as a discipline that receives substantial amount of attention. One popular area of research in the discipline of entrepreneurship is to investigate one’s intent to start a business, which is entrepreneurial intention. This is an important construct that warrants ongoing research because entrepreneurial intention is not only a great predictor of entrepreneurial behavior but also an important step in the process of becoming an entrepreneur. The present study, based on a sample of 321 subjects along with 264 observers, makes five contributions to the entrepreneurship literature. First, I examined the psychometric property of entrepreneurial take-over intention and found that it is a construct different from entrepreneurial start-up intention. Second, the results demonstrated that risk propensity and proactive personality are positive predictors of entrepreneurial start-up and take-over intentions, whereas cognitive ability is a negative predictor of entrepreneurial start-up and take-over intentions. Rebelliousness is a positive predictor of entrepreneurial take-over intention and also has an inverted U-shaped relationship with entrepreneurial take-over intention. Third, entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediates the relationship between three individual traits (i.e., emotional intelligence, risk propensity, and proactive personality) and entrepreneurial start-up and take-over intentions. Need for cognition mediates the relationship between two individual traits (i.e., cognitive ability and proactive personality) and entrepreneurial start-up intention. Fourth, 2D:4D ratio (a proxy measure for prenatal testosterone exposure level) negatively predicts risk propensity. There also exist two two-step mediations from 2D:4D ratio to both entrepreneurial start-up and take-over intentions through risk propensity and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Fifth, the results suggest that observer ratings of individual traits only contribute modest incremental validity above and beyond self-reported ratings of them in predicting entrepreneurial start-up and take-over intentions. I discuss implications, limitations, and future directions informed by the present study.