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What Causes What
LOOP

Contest outcome (win / loss) → Testosterone

Winning a meaningful contest raises T relative to losing. That T change then colors the next contest. A loop, not an arrow.

Longitudinal / panel · Moderate

Each side moves the other. A single arrow is the wrong picture.

Mechanism

Mazur and Booth's biosocial model: T rises in anticipation of a challenge and diverges after the result — up for winners, down for losers — which then biases willingness to re-enter. Booth et al. (1989) saw it in tennis; later metas shrink but do not erase the field effect.

Caveats

Tiny early N. Laboratory effects are often near zero. Mood about the win, home advantage, and cortisol all moderate the delta. Women are under-studied in the classic papers.

Effect

cohens_d = 0.2. Winner–loser T difference is small; clearer in field than lab (updated metas).

Nodes

Psychology & behaviorContest outcome (win / loss)Biology & endocrinologyTestosterone

Named confounders

Cite this page

What Causes What. “Contest outcome (win / loss) → Testosterone.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-win-testosterone (atlas updated 2026-08-31).

https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-win-testosterone

Papers