The study titled, "Prestige in a large-scale social group predicts longitudinal changes in testosterone" examined the effects of previous experiences of prestige—assessed using community-wide nominations of talent and advice provision—on intraindividual changes in testosterone in a large-scale naturalistic community. Results revealed that men who achieve high standing in the group’s prestige hierarchy in the initial weeks of group formation show a rise in testosterone over the subsequent 2 months, whereas men with low-prestige show a decline or little change in testosterone—a pattern consistent with the functional significance of context-specific testosterone responses. No significant associations were found in women. These results suggest that the long-term up- and downregulation of testosterone provides a mechanism through which past experiences of prestige calibrate psychological systems in a manner that adaptively guides future efforts in seeking and maintaining prestige.
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