Testosterone and Aggression Aggression has been investigated by psychologists and other scientists for decades. This is hardly surprising considering the considerable human toll paid for our aggressive tendencies. The popular wisdom, supported by early research, is that aggression is somewhat due to the influence of the male hormone testosterone. However, recent work has questioned the simplicity of that connection and argues that testosterone is more connected to dominance behaviors of which aggression is only one. One needs only look to the news media to see countless episodes of violence in our society.
Individuals assault other individuals.
Gangs assault individuals and other gangs. Wars are fought between nations. While the predominance of murders are done by young adult males, women murder as well. Some studies have suggested that women and men engage in equal levels of domestic violence, disputing many other studies that say men are much more violent in the home than women. The greater influence of aggression in men suggested that testosterone, of which men have about 10 times greater circulating volume, should be investigated as the source of violence in men.