Psycho-biological foundations of norm enforcement

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K13115
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Social psychology
• Research Institution: Aoyama Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: Kiyonari Toko 青山学院大学, 社会情報学部, 准教授 (60555176)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 高橋 泰城 北海道大学, 文学研究科, 准教授 (60374170)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 社会規範 / 内分泌 / テストステロン / 社会的地位 / 社会的支配性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Endogenous testosterone (T) is generally considered to enhance social dominance, but the results of economic game experiments that have examined the relationship between decision making and T are inconsistent. We explored the relationship between pre-existing social status and salivary T level among members of a rugby team at a Japanese university, where a strong seniority norm maintains hierarchical relationships. We analyzed participants’ level of acquiescence (how much more they offered beyond the lowest offer they would accept) based on their decisions both as proposer and responder in a series of one-shot Ultimatum Games. In summary, our results consistently suggest that T may enhance socially dominant behavior among higher-status persons, and that the effect of T on lower-status persons merits further investigation.

Free Research Field

社会心理学