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Heroes, Rogues, and Lovers: Testosterone and Behavior
Studies the effects of testosterone, a hormone that is associated with acts of violence and with virility and heroism, on human behavior, language ability, and cognition.
Hardcover
First published December 31, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 10, 2018
'There is agreement that testosterone increases muscle strength and sexual activity. There is little doubt that it is related to such things as delinquency and marital instability. Other findings are more tentative, such as those dealing with thought, occupations, sex differences, and the nature of heroism and altruism.'
Tentative is indeed the word, and it's exactly the trap in which this book falls into: it's way too tentative.
The strange thing is, despite the authors being perfectly aware that behaviour is not only a matter of biology but also depends on social and cultural factors, they tend to over-focus on the biological side of the balance. This makes for an unsettling and quite weird read, as each chapter follow the same weak and tiring pattern: first, they describe their expected role of testosterone for a given behaviour (dominance, sex, altruism...), then they toss in some dubious evidences to illustrate their points (dubious because, most are based either on their own or students' researches or, anecdotes gathered from friends, relatives, and even TV shows!) and, finally, conclude by reminding that, eh!, culture matters too so let's not be too simplistic! I didn't find that very serious, and even when some arguments were seductive enough to be acknowledged, I couldn't but stop and think: is it really it, or yet another just-so story?
In fact, it seemed to me that James and Mary Dabbs had their own preconceived ideas about the role of testosterone (in both men and women) and so set on to list everything they could to reinforce but not challenge their bias. Indeed, on the one hand they describe people with high testosterone levels as 'confident, tough, competitive, bold, energetic, attractive to the opposite sex, and (...) frequently outrageous', so they go on to look after criminals, veteran soldiers, firefighters and the like to find it out; and, on the other hand, claiming people with low testosterone levels 'tend to be more friendly, more intellectual, and more interested in the welfare of others', guess what they did?... Well:
'We checked this out by finding volunteers who seemed to be "nice guys" and collecting saliva samples from them.'
I mean, come on! How serious is that!?
Now, I acknowledge that they themselves recognise their book to be centred around a model which, as every model, is 'good not because it contains everything, but because it provides a useful and simplified view'. Sadly, their model and view here are just so simplified they flirt with the caricatural.
Disappointing.
Tentative is indeed the word, and it's exactly the trap in which this book falls into: it's way too tentative.
The strange thing is, despite the authors being perfectly aware that behaviour is not only a matter of biology but also depends on social and cultural factors, they tend to over-focus on the biological side of the balance. This makes for an unsettling and quite weird read, as each chapter follow the same weak and tiring pattern: first, they describe their expected role of testosterone for a given behaviour (dominance, sex, altruism...), then they toss in some dubious evidences to illustrate their points (dubious because, most are based either on their own or students' researches or, anecdotes gathered from friends, relatives, and even TV shows!) and, finally, conclude by reminding that, eh!, culture matters too so let's not be too simplistic! I didn't find that very serious, and even when some arguments were seductive enough to be acknowledged, I couldn't but stop and think: is it really it, or yet another just-so story?
In fact, it seemed to me that James and Mary Dabbs had their own preconceived ideas about the role of testosterone (in both men and women) and so set on to list everything they could to reinforce but not challenge their bias. Indeed, on the one hand they describe people with high testosterone levels as 'confident, tough, competitive, bold, energetic, attractive to the opposite sex, and (...) frequently outrageous', so they go on to look after criminals, veteran soldiers, firefighters and the like to find it out; and, on the other hand, claiming people with low testosterone levels 'tend to be more friendly, more intellectual, and more interested in the welfare of others', guess what they did?... Well:
'We checked this out by finding volunteers who seemed to be "nice guys" and collecting saliva samples from them.'
I mean, come on! How serious is that!?
Now, I acknowledge that they themselves recognise their book to be centred around a model which, as every model, is 'good not because it contains everything, but because it provides a useful and simplified view'. Sadly, their model and view here are just so simplified they flirt with the caricatural.
Disappointing.
April 11, 2012
I first read this book years ago and loved it then. I recently re-read it, and my take on it has soured somewhat.
The thesis of the book - that testosterone levels influence behavior on animals, including human animals of both sexes - is one for which I feel much sympathy. The book is very easy to read and is interesting, clear, and enthusiastically written.
The central problem with the book stems from the poor (or poorly explained) research design of the studies that it invokes. Most of the conclusions of the book stem from observations in which there is no actual treatment. In other words: "Let's look at a bunch of people in different professions. Look! People in X profession have higher testosterone levels than those in Y profession!" Such observations cannot on their own support the author's overexpansive claims. What's more, even these types of observations are suspect. To take one example: the authors briefly - too briefly - note that cortisol is antagonistic to testosterone. In other words: when you're stressed out, you won't have high serum testosterone levels. Yet there seems to be no attempt to control for this in the book. So when they say that out of the groups studied, farmers have the lowest levels, it's tough to know what to make of it. Maybe they were tested when they were in the midst of a strenuous period of labor. Who knows. So not only are the cross-comparisons between groups scientifically suspect, but the measures of a given group are suspect as well. What's more, the sample sizes in many cases are far too small to generalize as the author does.
To his detriment, the author, rather than acknowledge these flaws, tries to invoke "just-so" stories to explain his findings. Farmers have lower testosterone levels? Must be because they're so patient. Ministers also have high levels? Ditto. But actors have high levels, even though both they and ministers perform in front of a stage? Hmmm... well, acting is an unstable profession, so that must account for it! Etc.
You get the idea. At certain points the author gets far too breathless and fails to take a skeptical look at his inferences. Yet this is still a fun book to read, and some of the evidence is indeed compelling. The causal mechanism is most plausible when the author describes the effects of administering testosterone or castration on animals. This book's logic is oftentimes dubious (even if it turns out that it hits on the correct conclusion), but the author does not make a fool of himself. It's just a shame that the rigor did not match the enthusiasm.
The thesis of the book - that testosterone levels influence behavior on animals, including human animals of both sexes - is one for which I feel much sympathy. The book is very easy to read and is interesting, clear, and enthusiastically written.
The central problem with the book stems from the poor (or poorly explained) research design of the studies that it invokes. Most of the conclusions of the book stem from observations in which there is no actual treatment. In other words: "Let's look at a bunch of people in different professions. Look! People in X profession have higher testosterone levels than those in Y profession!" Such observations cannot on their own support the author's overexpansive claims. What's more, even these types of observations are suspect. To take one example: the authors briefly - too briefly - note that cortisol is antagonistic to testosterone. In other words: when you're stressed out, you won't have high serum testosterone levels. Yet there seems to be no attempt to control for this in the book. So when they say that out of the groups studied, farmers have the lowest levels, it's tough to know what to make of it. Maybe they were tested when they were in the midst of a strenuous period of labor. Who knows. So not only are the cross-comparisons between groups scientifically suspect, but the measures of a given group are suspect as well. What's more, the sample sizes in many cases are far too small to generalize as the author does.
To his detriment, the author, rather than acknowledge these flaws, tries to invoke "just-so" stories to explain his findings. Farmers have lower testosterone levels? Must be because they're so patient. Ministers also have high levels? Ditto. But actors have high levels, even though both they and ministers perform in front of a stage? Hmmm... well, acting is an unstable profession, so that must account for it! Etc.
You get the idea. At certain points the author gets far too breathless and fails to take a skeptical look at his inferences. Yet this is still a fun book to read, and some of the evidence is indeed compelling. The causal mechanism is most plausible when the author describes the effects of administering testosterone or castration on animals. This book's logic is oftentimes dubious (even if it turns out that it hits on the correct conclusion), but the author does not make a fool of himself. It's just a shame that the rigor did not match the enthusiasm.
October 24, 2017
This is a semi-scientific, semi-correlation write-up about the hormone known as testosterone. Written more than fifteen years ago, the information contained within is a little bit out of date. I’m going to be more blunt than usual and admit this wasn’t my favorite book ever. The authors took a usually-negative perspective of how testosterone and men exist in modern day society, devoting only once chapter to the ‘heroes’ created by testosterone at the very end of the book (and even then they listed all the drawbacks such heroes often live with.
For the rest of my review, click here: https://scribbler.john-mendez.com/2017/10/24/heroes-rogues-and-lovers-testosterone-and-behavior-book-review/#more-2171
For the rest of my review, click here: https://scribbler.john-mendez.com/2017/10/24/heroes-rogues-and-lovers-testosterone-and-behavior-book-review/#more-2171
July 20, 2019
Readable report on the latest research
Males commit violent acts at a rate much greater than women. The vast majority of people in prison are males. One of the reasons is they have more testosterone pumping through their veins than women. Testosterone makes people take chances. It makes them more interested in sex and more aggressive. It makes them into "heroes, rogues and lovers," to quote the title of this interesting book. Testosterone tends to affect low socioeconomic status males more than high status males, and the effects of testosterone can be mitigated by learning. Women also produce testosterone, but at lower levels than men; however, what they do produce affects them more. Women are attracted to high testosterone males, but do not necessarily marry them. Women select males and thereby create the males that exist. We inherit our testosterone levels, and testosterone comes before rambunctiousness, not the other way around. (This last from pages 87-88.)
These are some of the facts gleaned from the research of Professor Dabbs, who is the head of the Social/Cognitive Psychology Program at Georgia State University. This book is a report on that research presented with examples, allusions and references to literature and the popular culture, leading to an easy read. Dabbs, along with his collaborator, his wife, Mary, "a former publicist with several feminist organizations," allows us to see the world through testosterone-shaded glasses, but without prejudice. Their report is balanced and fair. They give us the downside of testosterone and the upside, as implied in their title. The fact that theirs is the first popular full-length book (that I know of) devoted exclusively to the phenomenon of testosterone is the result of fairly recent technology that allows the measurement of testosterone levels from saliva samples. Previously, blood had to be used. Since most people are more willing to spit than to allow blood to be taken from their bodies, this technique opened up new possibilities for research, and Dabbs, who apparently has a fair amount of testosterone still pumping through his veins, got there first.
There are charts and graphs showing testosterone levels by occupation. Construction workers, actors, football players, con men (!), blue collar workers, etc., predicably are high in testosterone while clerical workers and clerics, counselors and farmers, etc., are low. Lawyers tend to be high, with trial lawyers and especially flamboyant defense lawyers the highest, with research lawyers the lowest. Relatively high testosterone levels correlate with masculine traits such as muscle strength, spatial ability, narrow-focused thinking, combativeness, while lower levels correlate with feminine traits such as sociability, more generalized thinking, verbal ability, cooperation, etc. Men tend to leap to action, while women tend to think about it first. Higher testosterone does not correlate with high economic status since our society rewards thoughtfulness, patience, and cooperation as well as hard work and being assertive. High testosterone males die younger but have more sex. This too is a predicable finding since it is a type of evolutionary strategy. Testosterone, in fact, might be seen as the chemical form of aggressiveness. Aggressiveness is getting there first with the most. It's a kind of strategy that often works. But there are problems as well as rewards in aggressiveness. First, it's costly; you use more energy. Second, you're not as sure in your actions so you make more mistakes, which is dangerous Third, you incite aggressiveness on the part of others, and that too can be dangerous. Fourth, sometimes getting there first may lead to no advantage. Finally, you can be only so aggressive. Aggressiveness leads to an "arms war." If aggressiveness is rewarded--and it is in a passive world--then everybody tends to become more aggressive until nobody has an advantage; in fact the passive now have the advantage because they live longer, etc., leading to the selection of more passive creatures, creating an environment effectively exploited by the more aggressive, leading to...the arms race cycle.
Some interesting quotes from the text:
"Wife abuse" tends to increase "in the Washington, D.C., area after the Redskins win their football games." (p. 92)
"To some men, a good relationship allows them to strut while their wives admire them." (p. 111)
"...[W]omen know in their secret hearts that men who won't kill for them are useless." (p. 61. Dabbs is paraphrasing from Cormac McCarthy's novel, The Crossing.)
"...[C]avewomen had to have resources and protection for their young, and so in courtship and mating, they favored dominant and powerful suitors... values persist today...Money is associated with power...women want men with ." (p. 113)
"Senator William Proxmire once denounced two of my colleagues for looking at love scientifically, saying that love was a mystery, not a science, and he wanted it to stay that way. My colleagues agreed that love was a mystery, but they thought the senator should welcome all the help he could get in solving the mystery, given his own problems with divorce." (p. 96)
"Sociobiologists like E. O. Wilson believe that understanding the relationship between our animal qualities and our behavior frees us to improve our behavior, similar to the way that understanding the relationship between tubercule bacilli and disease freed us to find effective treatment for tuberculosis." (p. 210)
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
Males commit violent acts at a rate much greater than women. The vast majority of people in prison are males. One of the reasons is they have more testosterone pumping through their veins than women. Testosterone makes people take chances. It makes them more interested in sex and more aggressive. It makes them into "heroes, rogues and lovers," to quote the title of this interesting book. Testosterone tends to affect low socioeconomic status males more than high status males, and the effects of testosterone can be mitigated by learning. Women also produce testosterone, but at lower levels than men; however, what they do produce affects them more. Women are attracted to high testosterone males, but do not necessarily marry them. Women select males and thereby create the males that exist. We inherit our testosterone levels, and testosterone comes before rambunctiousness, not the other way around. (This last from pages 87-88.)
These are some of the facts gleaned from the research of Professor Dabbs, who is the head of the Social/Cognitive Psychology Program at Georgia State University. This book is a report on that research presented with examples, allusions and references to literature and the popular culture, leading to an easy read. Dabbs, along with his collaborator, his wife, Mary, "a former publicist with several feminist organizations," allows us to see the world through testosterone-shaded glasses, but without prejudice. Their report is balanced and fair. They give us the downside of testosterone and the upside, as implied in their title. The fact that theirs is the first popular full-length book (that I know of) devoted exclusively to the phenomenon of testosterone is the result of fairly recent technology that allows the measurement of testosterone levels from saliva samples. Previously, blood had to be used. Since most people are more willing to spit than to allow blood to be taken from their bodies, this technique opened up new possibilities for research, and Dabbs, who apparently has a fair amount of testosterone still pumping through his veins, got there first.
There are charts and graphs showing testosterone levels by occupation. Construction workers, actors, football players, con men (!), blue collar workers, etc., predicably are high in testosterone while clerical workers and clerics, counselors and farmers, etc., are low. Lawyers tend to be high, with trial lawyers and especially flamboyant defense lawyers the highest, with research lawyers the lowest. Relatively high testosterone levels correlate with masculine traits such as muscle strength, spatial ability, narrow-focused thinking, combativeness, while lower levels correlate with feminine traits such as sociability, more generalized thinking, verbal ability, cooperation, etc. Men tend to leap to action, while women tend to think about it first. Higher testosterone does not correlate with high economic status since our society rewards thoughtfulness, patience, and cooperation as well as hard work and being assertive. High testosterone males die younger but have more sex. This too is a predicable finding since it is a type of evolutionary strategy. Testosterone, in fact, might be seen as the chemical form of aggressiveness. Aggressiveness is getting there first with the most. It's a kind of strategy that often works. But there are problems as well as rewards in aggressiveness. First, it's costly; you use more energy. Second, you're not as sure in your actions so you make more mistakes, which is dangerous Third, you incite aggressiveness on the part of others, and that too can be dangerous. Fourth, sometimes getting there first may lead to no advantage. Finally, you can be only so aggressive. Aggressiveness leads to an "arms war." If aggressiveness is rewarded--and it is in a passive world--then everybody tends to become more aggressive until nobody has an advantage; in fact the passive now have the advantage because they live longer, etc., leading to the selection of more passive creatures, creating an environment effectively exploited by the more aggressive, leading to...the arms race cycle.
Some interesting quotes from the text:
"Wife abuse" tends to increase "in the Washington, D.C., area after the Redskins win their football games." (p. 92)
"To some men, a good relationship allows them to strut while their wives admire them." (p. 111)
"...[W]omen know in their secret hearts that men who won't kill for them are useless." (p. 61. Dabbs is paraphrasing from Cormac McCarthy's novel, The Crossing.)
"...[C]avewomen had to have resources and protection for their young, and so in courtship and mating, they favored dominant and powerful suitors... values persist today...Money is associated with power...women want men with ." (p. 113)
"Senator William Proxmire once denounced two of my colleagues for looking at love scientifically, saying that love was a mystery, not a science, and he wanted it to stay that way. My colleagues agreed that love was a mystery, but they thought the senator should welcome all the help he could get in solving the mystery, given his own problems with divorce." (p. 96)
"Sociobiologists like E. O. Wilson believe that understanding the relationship between our animal qualities and our behavior frees us to improve our behavior, similar to the way that understanding the relationship between tubercule bacilli and disease freed us to find effective treatment for tuberculosis." (p. 210)
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
September 22, 2011
inspired by - http://thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Epi... heart This American Life
December 24, 2017
Fascinating! I wish it was three times longer.
April 28, 2021
I would say that this book can be summed by the question "Why it is ok to have low testosterone".
Some examples of testosterone combining with different other hormones is interesting though.
Some examples of testosterone combining with different other hormones is interesting though.
October 17, 2010
Read this book a few years back, after finding it cheap at a used book store, and it explained pretty much everything. If you're a student of human behavior (and who isn't?) you have to read this book. If you're a hard core determinist who believes that all human behavior is subject to prior causation then you have to read this book. If you find yourself incarcerated after an unfortunate encounter with law enforcement then you have to read this book, because, after all, those who can't "spit" a ten will probably swallow one instead and it's good to, you know, like, know yourself and stuff.
April 29, 2012
What I love about this book is that it shows that women aren't the only ones who are affected by their hormones. It has become "common knowledge" that if a woman is irritated or annoyed, it is because she is PMSing, not because there is a valid reason for her feelings. For example, I find certain people in my acquaintance annoying, because they are annoying, not because I see them only at a specific point in my monthly cycle. Everyone is susceptible to their hormones, whether they're male or female, it doesn't matter.
December 19, 2012
A mixture of anecdotal and sciencetific studies, of mixed value. Interesting, well-written, thoughtful but the foundation for conclusions not entirely satisfying. suffice to say, testosterone is one very powerful "drug"
October 22, 2015
Too many anecdotes and armchair speculations; he could have just stuck to his published studies, but the basic themes are important for people to know (especially since biological explanations for sex differences in behavior can be taboo in some circles.)
Want to Read
May 6, 2009 good dustjacket
February 29, 2016
Opened my eyes regarding men, why they behave the way they do. I found this book fascinating and, in many ways, life changing.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews