Friday, May 9, 2008

In women, estrogen acts like testosterone

Estrogen fuels feelings of power and competition in women in much the same way testosterone does in men. Estrogen levels shot up in power-motivated women when they won and plummeted when they lost, researchers found. The higher the women were in estrogen, the higher they were in power motivation. The researchers found that estradiol (estrogen), but not testosterone, and a non-conscious need for dominance are positively related in women. This positive relationship is strongest in single women and women not taking oral contraceptives. Estrogen is very behaviorally potent and is actually a close hormonal relative to testosterone. In female mammals, estrogen has been tied to dominance, but there has been scant research examining the behavioral roles of estrogen in women.

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