Longitudinal / panel · 1989

Testosterone, and winning and losing in human competition

A. Booth, G. Shelley, A. Mazur, G. Tharp, R. Kittok. Hormones and Behavior · N=6.

University tennis players across a season: T rose before matches and rose after wins relative to losses, especially when mood about the victory was high. Tiny N; historically important.

Open source doi:10.1016/0018-506X(89)90042-1 PMID 2638686

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

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What Causes What. “Testosterone, and winning and losing in human competition.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/papers/p-booth-1989 (atlas updated 2026-08-31).

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