Testosterone and the Financial Markets

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Health, Prime/fit, Supplements, Travel/fit | (0) Comments

Well this goes in the “unusual” category… British researchers have found that traders who had higher levels of testosterone in the morning were more successful than those who had, I guess, normal levels. At any rate, the theory is that the higher levels of testosterone make the men less cautious and more aggressive. I guess I can see that, but the theory goes on to suggest that it even affects stock market bubbles. Lots of speculation here.

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New research out of Britain finds that financial traders who wake up with high levels of the male hormone testosterone tend to make more money that day, probably because they feel more daring.

On the flip side, traders with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol tend to be more cautious.

“We think that, during bubbles, traders are experiencing extremely high levels of testosterone, and this is affecting not only their judgment, but the ability of monetary policy to control bubbles,” said study author John Coates, a research fellow at Judge Business School and the department of physiology development in neuroscience at the University of Cambridge in Britain. “Alan Greenspan spent most of his career trying to stop a bubble and never succeeded. Why are these things so hard to stop?”

The findings are consistent with previous research, said Dr. Julio Licinio, chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “”If testosterone is higher, you push yourself more,” he said.