Sapolsky – The Trouble with Testosterone

Book page: sapolsky-trouble-with-testosterone

From: Quotes batch 22

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Concept

“The central concept is that hormones don’t invent behaviors; they modulate them, acting as a volume knob rather than a switch.” (p. 15)

Behavior

“Testosterone doesn’t make you aggressive; it makes you do whatever is necessary to maintain status when that status is challenged.” (p. 162)

Game Theory

“In a hierarchy, the ‘alpha’ behavior is a strategic investment in the group’s stability, provided the costs of policing don’t outweigh the benefits.” (p. 84)

Cognition

“Our cognitive assessment of a situation—is this a threat or a challenge?—determines which hormonal cascade the brain triggers.” (p. 42)

Memory

“Stress hormones like cortisol can enhance the memory of a crisis while simultaneously eroding our ability to remember the mundane.” (p. 210)