The same hormone that makes men hairy (and both genders feel frisky) is to blame for the current mess on Wall Street, say researchers:
Scientific American reports:
Men with more of the sex hormone made riskier investments than guys with lower levels, according to a study published online yesterday in Evolution and Human Behavior. Just how much riskier? Those with 33 percent more testosterone than average men invested 10 percent more of their dough.The findings are based on saliva samples from 98 male Harvard students taken before they played an investment game with $250 in real money. The students with more masculine facial features, such as prominent jaws and cheekbones, also were riskier with their cash, investing 6 percent more of it than their softer-featured peers.