Testosterone makes men use luxury brands like antlers, displaying their rank to women: study

A single dose of testosterone steers men towards luxury brands of cars, watches, pens, or clothes which, like stag antlers and peacock tails, signal “status” to females, scientists said Tuesday.

The sex hormone, it turns out, is a major influencer of male consumer behaviour, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.

“This is likely because testosterone plays a role in behaviours that relate to social rank (in animals), and owning status products is a strategy to signal one’s rank within human social hierarchies,” said study co-author Gideon Nave of the University of Pennsylvania.

Studies have already established that humans use consumer goods to exhibit social status. But the role of hormones was unknown.

Nave and a team recruited 243 men aged 18 to 55 for a trial. Some were given a dose of testosterone, applied to the skin in gel form, while others received a placebo or “dummy” dose.

They were then asked to choose between two products – of similar quality but one boasting a trademark considered high status – a judgment determined in a previous survey of over 600 men.