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The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power
Following recent trends in the neurosciences in which the body is seen as a constituting factor in mental experience and behavior, this thesis examined the role of testosterone in mapping the state of the body. The general aim was thus to contribute to the literature on the embodied basis of power b...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Psychology
2019
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| _version_ | 1867613907047153664 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Minné, Donné |
| author2 | Solms, Mark |
| author_browse | Minné, Donné Solms, Mark |
| author_facet | Solms, Mark Minné, Donné |
| author_sort | Minné, Donné |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Following recent trends in the neurosciences in which the body is seen as a constituting factor in mental experience and behavior, this thesis examined the role of testosterone in mapping the state of the body. The general aim was thus to contribute to the literature on the embodied basis of power by asking whether a change in the neurochemistry associated with social power has any effect on embodiment? Accordingly, in a series of randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled studies, this thesis assessed for the first time the effects of a 0.5mg dosage of testosterone on three important dimensions of embodiment in samples of women: 1) The perception of internal physiological signals (interoception), 2) Body ownership, and 3) The experience of sensory-motor agency. Psychological tests measuring emotion and personality were integrated into the design. Using a heartbeat tracking task, testosterone was shown to increase interoceptive accuracy at baseline, but this advantage was lost following ostracism in an online ball tossing game. In experiment two, it was found that testosterone compared to placebo prevented a decline in limb temperature during the Rubber Hand Illusion, a commonly used paradigm for manipulating experiences of body ownership and for measuring homeostatic changes related to disembodiment. In experiment three, testosterone was found to increase the implicit sense of agency as measured in terms of intentional binding, a task which exploits the tendency to perceive a contraction in time when one’s own actions are felt to be casually related to external effects. Results indicate that testosterone has the capacity to improve interoceptive accuracy, is able to help regulate homeostasis in response to erroneous top-down beliefs about the body, and to increase the feeling of sensorimotor control. While the limitations of this data are acknowledged, these main findings suggest that testosterone is able to modulate the experience and representation of the body and offer insight into some of the rudimentary embodied mechanisms via which the hormone might support the rise to power. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29592 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:36.114Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publishDateRange | 2019 |
| publishDateSort | 2019 |
| publisher | Department of Psychology |
| publisherStr | Department of Psychology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29592 The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power Minné, Donné Solms, Mark Van Honk, Jack Psychology Following recent trends in the neurosciences in which the body is seen as a constituting factor in mental experience and behavior, this thesis examined the role of testosterone in mapping the state of the body. The general aim was thus to contribute to the literature on the embodied basis of power by asking whether a change in the neurochemistry associated with social power has any effect on embodiment? Accordingly, in a series of randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled studies, this thesis assessed for the first time the effects of a 0.5mg dosage of testosterone on three important dimensions of embodiment in samples of women: 1) The perception of internal physiological signals (interoception), 2) Body ownership, and 3) The experience of sensory-motor agency. Psychological tests measuring emotion and personality were integrated into the design. Using a heartbeat tracking task, testosterone was shown to increase interoceptive accuracy at baseline, but this advantage was lost following ostracism in an online ball tossing game. In experiment two, it was found that testosterone compared to placebo prevented a decline in limb temperature during the Rubber Hand Illusion, a commonly used paradigm for manipulating experiences of body ownership and for measuring homeostatic changes related to disembodiment. In experiment three, testosterone was found to increase the implicit sense of agency as measured in terms of intentional binding, a task which exploits the tendency to perceive a contraction in time when one’s own actions are felt to be casually related to external effects. Results indicate that testosterone has the capacity to improve interoceptive accuracy, is able to help regulate homeostasis in response to erroneous top-down beliefs about the body, and to increase the feeling of sensorimotor control. While the limitations of this data are acknowledged, these main findings suggest that testosterone is able to modulate the experience and representation of the body and offer insight into some of the rudimentary embodied mechanisms via which the hormone might support the rise to power. 2019-02-18T10:17:31Z 2019-02-18T10:17:31Z 2018 2019-02-18T09:31:05Z Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29592 eng application/pdf Department of Psychology Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Psychology Minné, Donné The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power |
| title_full | The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power |
| title_fullStr | The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power |
| title_short | The effects of testosterone on embodiment: implications for social power |
| title_sort | effects of testosterone on embodiment implications for social power |
| topic | Psychology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29592 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT minnedonne theeffectsoftestosteroneonembodimentimplicationsforsocialpower AT minnedonne effectsoftestosteroneonembodimentimplicationsforsocialpower |