Abstract
Whereas direct relationships between 2D:4D and dominance related attitudes or behavior often turn out to be weak, some literature suggests that the relation between 2D:4D and dominance is context-specific. That is, especially in status-challenging situations 2D:4D may be related to dominant behavior and its correlates. Based on this perspective, we interpret inconsistencies in the literature on the relation between 2D:4D and risk taking, aggression and dominance related outcomes and investigate in our empirical study how attitudes in low 2D:4D men may change as a function of the status relevance of the context. We provide evidence for the idea that status relevance of the particular situation at hand influences the attitude towards performance-enhancing means for low 2D:4D men, but not for high 2D:4D men. We argue that 2D:4D may be related to any behavior that is functional to attain status in a specific context. Implications for (economic) decision making are discussed.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 254 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-9 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
Volume | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 17 Jan 2018 |
Funding
We thank the Behavioral Lab of the School of Business and Economics (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) for data collection support.
Funders | Funder number |
---|---|
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
Keywords
- 2D:4D
- Context
- Digit ratio
- Dominance
- Economic decision making
- Performance
- Social status