A new study published on June 2, Thursday by Imperial College London (ICL) implies that the human hormones testosterone and cortisol could have a negative and dangerous impact on the decision-making of city workers. The natural steroids have been linked to a greater likelihood of risk-taking and irrational behavior in men completing economic and commercial transactions.
The testosterone hormone exists in female bodies, although the concentration is nearly 20 times greater in men, according to The Telegraph. This fact is stated in the study.
ICL researchers cite the dangerous combination of high hormonal levels and the financial sector being male-dominated. This partly explains the impulsive actions that financiers and bankers have made in recent years.
In fact, male hormones could have caused bad trading that had a negative impact on the UK economy. The study makes the suggestion.
ICL's comprehensive tests tried to recreate the social environment and conditions of a stock market's trading floor. The study's subjects were all males aged 18 to 30.
They traded fake "stocks." The 75 study volunteers also made financial decisions, which created a baseline for the study.
Medical researchers gave the men different doses of either testosterone or cortisol. The study subjects then returned to the trading floor.
The changes were eye-popping. After receiving the extra hormone shots, the average trade times plummeted by many seconds, and the environment became one of "irrational exuberance."
However, cortisol and testosterone affected the subjects a little differently. Higher cortisol levels resulted in riskier trading in which the subjects did not consider the consequences of failure.
Cortisol increases in a person's body due to physical or mental stress, according to Medical News Today. This results in higher blood sugar levels.
Higher testosterone levels also promoted irrational behavior and illogical decisions. However, the personality change was smaller.
Instead, the volunteers with more testosterone had a higher sense of optimism for no logical reason. They made big gambles on stocks and trading.
The new study was published in Scientific Reports.