…testosterone levels increased among fans of winning teams and decreased among fans of losing teams. The effect among winning fans was strong enough to reverse the normal pattern of decline in testosterone levels across the day. Because the outcome of each game was not determined until the last few seconds, this effect was likely sudden, rather than building up gradually during the game.
Comment:
I wonder whether games in which one team crushes the other early on have a depressing effect because both sets of fans know the result is unlikely to change by the end of play?
Both men and women have testosterone, so are the same effects (in teams and fans) also observable in women?
Are testosterone levels affected by films or even books where the protagonist goes from early success, to failure, to rising from failure, to ending in final success?
Do testosterone levels rise in fans who are asked to think back to a game where their team won, and to picture it in their minds?
Leave a comment