Cardiovascular and testosterone responses to contested dominance in women.

Examined cardiovascular and testosterone responses of 10 dominant and 10 submissive female undergraduates to an acute stressor involving contested dominance. Ss rated their dominance to a predefined reference group, participated in a task that involved debating with a trained technician, and were continuously provided with bogus feedback throughout the task concerning biochemical substances in their blood that purportedly covaried with dominance. Dominant Ss were much more reactive to the stressor in several cardiovascular parameters than submissive Ss. Serum testosterone did not vary as a function of the experimental manipulation, and at each measurement point, dominant and submissive Ss had essentially identical serum levels of this hormone. Baseline testosterone for dominant Ss was related to changes in systolic blood pressure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)