Abstract:
Although testosterone has recently been discovered to play a role in the
biological stress response, its exact function is unclear. With the increased number of
annual deaths around the world being attributed to heart disease, it is important to
discern how hormones like testosterone influence the magnitude of the cardiovascular
stress response. It is also critical to acknowledge the possibility of biological and
psychological factors that may moderate these differences, such as anxiety: a state of
inner worry or uneasiness that may be present prior to stressor exposure. This
experiment examined cardiovascular and autonomic responses to psychosocial stress in
healthy males aged 18-45 (n .a. 120) that were either given exogenous testosterone or
placebo before being subjected to a social-evaluative stressor. Individual levels of trait
anxiety were used as a moderator of testosterone's effects to the stress response. Results
showed no significant effects of exogenous testosterone on heart rate and heart rate
variability, suggesting that testosterone does not play a direct role in modulating the
cardiovascular response to stress.
Description:
46 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of Psychology and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Science, Spring 2016.