Media release

From: The Royal Society

Higher testosterone may not be linked to increased sexual desire in men... but may correlate with more romantic behaviour. Daily salivary testosterone concentrations from 41 men were analysed alongside self-reported sexual desire. Increases in testosterone were not linked to increased sexual desire, however there was some evidence of increased courtship efforts with potential romantic partners. Proceedings B

Day-to-day associations between testosterone, sexual desire, and courtship efforts in young men

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

There appear to be widespread beliefs that fluctuations in men’s sexual desire track changes in their testosterone concentrations. We tested this idea by collecting daily measures of both testosterone and sexual desire across 31 days in a sample of 41 men. We found no evidence that men experienced greater desire on days when their testosterone was higher. When single men socialized with possible romantic partners, however, they reported greater courtship efforts on days when their testosterone was elevated. Our data suggest that testosterone may be more strongly associated with courtship efforts than with sexual desire.