The link between testosterone and financial risk in women
The level of testosterone may influence the career choices of women according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Luigi Zingales of the University of Chicago and colleagues studied the link between testosterone levels in 500 MBA students (MBA) and aversion to financial risk and the choice of career.
Initially, students could choose, in a computer simulation of situations, among receive fixed payments or play the lottery in situations involving different levels of risk. Those who had the lowest levels of risk aversion chose the option of the lottery more often.
Among women, those who had higher levels of testosterone were more likely to take risks. Whereas among men, testosterone levels had no influence.
Two years later, when these students have entered the labor market, people with high levels of testosterone and low risk aversion were more likely to have chosen careers in finance risky.
“This study has important implications for how the effects of testosterone may have an impact on the actual risk-taking in financial markets,” believes Zingales. “Moreover, it can illuminate the differences between the sexes in career choices. Future research should explore the mechanisms by which this sex hormone affects the brain. “