Читать книгу The Complete Parenting Collection - Steve Biddulph, Steve Biddulph - Страница 40

Testosterone affects mood and energy levels; it’s more than just a growth hormone. There’s no doubt it causes energetic and boisterous behaviour. That’s why, for centuries, horses were gelded to make them better behaved. Testosterone injected into female rats makes them try to mate with other female rats and fight with each other. It makes certain parts of the brain grow and others slow down their growth. It can grow more muscles and less fat, and it can make you go bald and bad tempered!

How testosterone affects the psychology of males can be illustrated by a famous study. A tribe of monkeys in a laboratory was closely observed to learn about its social structure. Researchers found that the male monkeys had a definite hierarchy, or pecking order. The females’ hierarchy was looser and more relaxed, based on who groomed whose hair! But the males always knew who was boss, sub-boss, and sub-sub-boss, and had frequent fights to prove it.

Once the researchers had worked out the monkey dynamics, they set about stirring up trouble. They captured the lowest-ranking male monkey and gave him an injection of testosterone. Then they put him back with the tribe. You can guess what happened next. He started a boxing match with his ‘immediate superior’. Much to his own surprise, he won! So he went and took on the next monkey! Within twenty minutes he had worked his way up to the top and tossed the biggest monkey off the highest branch. Our hero was small, but he had testosterone! He became the ‘acting manager’.

Sadly for him, this was not to last. The injection soon wore off, and our little hero was knocked back all the way down to the bottom of the heap. It’s a lot like politics!

The point is that testosterone influences the brain and makes boys more concerned with rank and competition.