December 3, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Scientists have found that giving to others triggers a warm glow, similar to the endorphin-induced highs that people have after sex, a good meal, or indulging in opiates. Now a new study finds another link between sex and charity — or, rather, the lack of charity.
The researchers, two California economists, studied the effects of the sex hormone testosterone on the generosity of male university students. Higher levels of testosterone, they found, made the students both more reluctant to give to others and more demanding that others give to them.
Here’s how the study was conducted: On varying days, the researchers had 25 male students apply a gel containing placebo; testosterone gel that roughly doubled the level of the hormone in their blood; and a third cream that pushed their testosterone levels even higher.
Afterward the students (who had no idea if they received placebo or testosterone) took turns playing a computer game that required two students to negotiate how a $10 financial reward would be split between them. One of the students was told to divide the reward any way he liked, while the other student could accept or reject the offer. Each student in the study assumed both roles, on and off testosterone.
Testosterone caused the students charged with splitting the $10 reward to be more stingy by 27 percent, offering their partner $1.57 on average, compared with $2.15 among those who received the placebo gel. Men who applied the more potent dose of testosterone were even less generous, offering their partners a measly 55 cents, on average.
Meanwhile, men in the position of accepting or rejecting the proposed split became more demanding as their testosterone levels increased. Men with the highest levels of the hormone, on average, rejected offers below $4, while those with the lowest levels rejected offers below $2.15.
What does this all mean for fund raising? One of the researchers, Paul J. Zak at Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Neuroeconomic Studies, offers some thoughts in a video about the study.
Our takeaway: Younger men, who have high levels of testosterone anyway, are not the best prospective donors. Better to wait, Mr. Zak suggests, until they’re older and married with children — when age and family cares lower the hard-charging hormone.
