Testosterones Effects on Biology and Behavior Essay

Testosterones Effects on Biology and Behavior Introduction The study of the interaction between hormones and behavior is truly a complex one. It would be simple if it were true that hormones directly cause a behavior. We know the relationship between hormones and behaviors is reciprocal. Higher levels of hormones increase the probability of certain behaviors, and certain behaviors increase the probability of change in hormones. The Biosocial Model was developed to encompass the influences and relationships the social environment, biology, and behavior have with one another, and how they interact to influence one another. Biology affects the type of behavioral response that a person has to the social environment. At the same†¦show more content†¦One of the ways males and females differ is on the basis of hormonal sex. Males have a high androgen to estrogen ratio, whereas females have a high estrogen to androgen ration. Testosterone is in the family of hormones known as androgens (Nelson, 2000). It is well known that testoste rone is produced in different glands in males and females. In women, the production is split between the ovaries and the adrenal glands. In men, the testes produce testosterone. The amount of testosterone produced in the ovaries and adrenal glands is just a fraction of that produced in the testis by men. Testosterone production follows a diurnal pattern. On average, levels in the early a.m. will be highest, decline by mid-day, and then decline again by late afternoon. When testosterone levels were measured in a sample of women, the highest levels were found in the morning, and the lowest in late evening (Ankarberg C., and Norjavaara E., 1999). In a study done in 1990, salivary samples were taken to measure testosterone in both sexes five times a day. These times were spread out from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at night. Research found that testosterone levels declined throughout the day for both sexes, with the highest testosterone levels in the early a.m. The largest declines inShow MoreRelatedTestosterone in Rodents Essay2649 Words   |  11 Pagesbody can have biological as well as behavioral effects on animals. Hormones can stimulate animals to grow, regulate, and differentiate as well as press them to exhibit a wide variety of behaviors for an even broader scope of reasons. P erhaps no other hormone has gained the public notoriety of testosterone. Long considered a masculine hormone, testosterone is inextricably coupled in the minds of the public as the hormone that makes men tick. To its effects are attributed all things manly, from muscle