To Boost Testosterone, Fire Someone

Feel like you need a little testosterone boost? Fire someone. According to researchers at the University of Michigan, that works well, and it works particularly well if you’re a woman. HealthDay reports that researchers at the school found that firing someone increased the level of testosterone in women about 10 percent. For men who fired someone, testosterone jumped only four percent. How do they know? The researchers assigned 41 trained actors to perform monologues in which they wielded power by firing a subordinate. On one occasion, they were told to do so in a stereotypically male way (more dominating). On another day, they were instructed to do the firing in a stereotypically feminine way (“trying to be nice,” van Anders said, “and feeling unsure about what you’re doing”). Testosterone levels were measured before and after the performances using saliva samples. The most interesting part? Testosterone increases didn’t vary when people were fired in a male way (dominating) or female way (nice). It was all about wielding power.