eia
wn
ed
ior
ith
f co
e, co
ive.
ma
t ap
any a
06). Ma
spect t
ocused
hanges
ases aft
, 1992
et al.,
t al., 19
contact with a n
Hormones and Behavior 58 (2010) 501–505
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Hormones an
.elfor just 5 min with novel women has been shown to provoke an
increase in male testosterone levels (Roney et al., 2007; van der Meij
et al., 2008). It is thought that in these contexts testosterone functions
to promote behavior or cognitions that facilitate mate acquisition or
mating directly (Roney et al., 2003). Besides testosterone other
hormones have also been found to be related to the mating and sexual
behavior of men. For example, sexual arousal causes an increase in
vasopressin levels (Murphy et al., 1987), masturbation provokes the
release of prolactin (Exton et al., 2001; Krüger et al., 2003) as well as
their social status or acceptance. Evidence for this theory is provided
by cortisol increases in situations when one's self-identity can be
negatively judged by others (Seeman et al., 1995), and when the
outcome of a negative situation is beyond control (e.g. Peters et al.,
1998; Salvador et al., 2003). The secretion of cortisol in response to
stress has an adaptive function as it diverts energy to exercising
muscles, enhances cardiovascular tone, and suppresses unessential
processes such as digestion, growth and reproduction (Sapolsky et al.,
2000). However, exposure to physical or psychological stressors for aepinephrine and norepinephrine (Krüger e
intercourse stimulates the release of oxyto
1994). This study focused on the hypothal
axis (HPA) by studying its end product; c

Corresponding author. Laboratory of Social Neurosc
Valencia, Spain. Fax: +34 96 386 46 68.
E-mail address: L.van.der.Meij@rug.nl (L. van der Me
0018-506X/$ – see front matter ' 2010 Elsevier Inc. All
doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.04.00985; Stoléru et al., 1993).
only cues that provoke
ial contact for 15 min or
well-being is threatened (for a review see Dickerson and Kemeny,
2004). More specifically, the social self preservation theory predicts
that cortisol increases when individuals are motivated to maintainHowever, explicit sexual stimuli are not the
testosterone increases, as a non-physical socIntroduction
Hormones have been related to m
behavior (van Anders and Watson, 20
the hormonal changes in men with re
activity and mate acquisition have f
pituitary–gonodal axis by measuring c
levels. For example, testosterone incre
intercourse (Dabbs and Mohammed
resulting in an orgasm (Knussman
watching erotic videos (Hellhammer espects of human social
ny studies investigating
o the function of sexual
on the hypothalamus–
in salivary testosterone
er men engage in sexual
), after sexual activity
1986) and even after
Originally it was thought that the release of cortisol was primarily
caused by non-specific psychological or physiological stressors (Selye,
1956). Later studies have focused on the exact nature of these
stressors and found that in situations where physical well-being is
perceived to be threatened, e.g. jumping out of an airplane
(Chatterton et al., 1997), can provoke an increase in the secretion of
cortisol. In addition to physically threatening contexts it has also been
proposed that cortisol responses are elicited when the psychologicalt al., 2003) and sexual
cin (Carmichael et al.,
amus–pituitary–adrenal
ortisol, and specifically
long period of tim
can have advers
such as myopat
and impotency (
Many researc
anism to aversi
there is also a
cortisol may hav
ience, Blasco Ibáñez 21, 46010
ij).
rights reserved.ovel woman.investigated if this hormone changes in response to a brief socialContact with attractive women affects th
Leander van der Meij
a,b,


, Abraham P. Buunk
a,c
, Alic
a
Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
b
Laboratory of Social Neuroscience, University of Valencia, Spain
c
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Netherlands
abstractarticle info
Article history:
Received 10 November 2009
Revised 15 April 2010
Accepted 15 April 2010
Available online 26 April 2010
Keywords:
Cortisol
Mate attraction
Attractiveness
HPA-axis
Courtship
Previous studies have sho
hormones. This study focus
levels in 84 young men pr
showed that after contact w
circadian release pattern o
with a woman. Furthermor
they had contact as attract
pituitary–adrenal axis in hu
in cortisol levels may reec
journal homepage: wwwrelease of cortisol in men
Salvador
b
that situations relevant for human mating can affect the levels of many
on the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis by measuring salivary cortisol
to and after a period of short social contact with a woman or man. Results
another man the cortisol levels of the participants declined according to the
rtisol. However, cortisol levels in men declined less when they had contact
rtisol levels of men increased when they perceived the woman with whom
Our findings provide indirect evidence for the role of the hypothalamus–
n courtship. During social contact with attractive women, moderate increases
prehension over an opportunity for courtship.
' 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
d Behavior
sevier.com/locate/yhbehe may cause chronically elevated cortisol levels that
e effects on health as it worsens various disorders,
hy, adult-onset diabetes, hypertension, amenorrhea
Munck et al., 1984; McEwen, 2008).
hers view the release of cortisol as a coping mech-
ve psychological or physical conditions. However,
substantial amount of research that suggests that
e other distinct functions. For example, in the non-

male sexual functioning is less clear. For example, while some studies
have found that cortisol decreases after watching erotic videos
502 L. van der Meij et al. / Hormones and Behavior 58 (2010) 501–505(Uckert et al., 2003), some have found that cortisol levels do not
change after watching such videos (Rowland et al., 1987; Carani et al.,
1990; Exton et al., 2000). Furthermore, chronically elevated cortisol
levels such as those caused by Cushing's Syndrome tend to decrease
sexual functioning (Starkman and Schteingart, 1981), whereas the
administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone (which stimulates
cortisol secretion) to patients with erectile dysfunction increases their
sexual performance (Isidori et al., 1984).
Only one recent study assessed if men increase their cortisol levels
in response to contact with women (Roney et al., 2007). In the first
experiment of this study, men had to wait with a female confederate
of the experimenter or had to wait alone. Their results showed that
compared with waiting alone, cortisol increased after social contact
with a woman. In their second experiment men interacted with a
female experimenter who attempted to be irtatious and signal
interest or with a male experimenter who attempted a friendly
conversation. This time they found that there was a non-significant
cortisol increase after contact with a female experimenter and a
significant decrease in cortisol after contact with amale experimenter.
These findings suggest that it depends on the social context whether
contact with women provokes an increase in male cortisol levels.
The present study tried to clarify the role of cortisol changes in
men who are in a social environment where there is the potential for
courtship. But when do men perceive a situation as potentially
suitable to engage in courtship? In humans, due to our psychological
complexity, the perception of such a situation is probably quite
variable. In this study we considered that for most men the presence
of an attractive woman may induce the perception that there is an
opportunity for courtship. While some men might avoid attractive
women since they might think they are ‘out of their league’,we
predicted that the majority of men would respond with some
apprehension and a concurrent hormonal response. To test this
hypothesis, our study investigated the hormonal responses of men
when they came into contact with a novel woman. An informal setting
was staged in which male participants had to wait in a waiting room
situation with either a female confederate or a male confederate.
Salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after the contact
period. We expected that as the female confederate was perceived as
more attractive, participants would show a more pronounced change
in cortisol after meeting this woman, whereas the perceived
attractiveness of the male confederate would not affect cortisol levels.
Method
Participants
Eighty-four male students (mean age: 21.2 years±0.32) partici-
pated in this study in exchange for €10. The participants had a mean
body mass index of 23.5 (±0.46) and were all Caucasian. Subjective
socio-economic status (Adler et al., 2000) was measured on a scale
from 1 (lowest) through 10 (highest) and the participants reported a
mean subjective socio-economic status of 6.6 (±0.09). To recruithuman animal literature it has been shown that corticosterone (the
non-human version of cortisol) facilitates pair bonding in male prairie
wolves but not in females (DeVries et al., 1996). Other studies have
consistently found that corticosterone increases after copulation in a
wide range of species, including stallions, bulls, pigs (Borg et al., 1991;
Rabb et al., 1989), rats (Retana-Marquez et al., 1998) and mice
(Bronson and Desjardins, 1982). Nevertheless, in male rats, cortico-
sterone levels may increase up to two fold after males are exposed to
physical or non-physical contact with a receptive or non-receptive
female (Bonilla-Jaime et al., 2006). In humans the effect of cortisol onparticipants a male and female research assistant approached men inthe cafeterias of the University of Valencia and held talks just before
the start of several lectures.
All participants were first interviewed by a male or female
collaborator and were asked to complete a questionnaire. We
excluded individuals who were not heterosexual (open question:
what is your sexual orientation?), who were enrolled in a psychology
degree, and those who smoked more than 5 cigarettes a day or
reported a serious medical or psychological problem or drug abuse.
Participants were also excluded if they were using any medication
directly related to cardiac, emotional or cognitive function, or one
that was able to inuence hormonal levels, such as glucocorticoids or
β-blockers. One participant was excluded from analyses because after
participating he indicated he was bisexual.
Up until 1 day before the experiment, the participants were asked
tomaintain their typical habits, including sleeping for as long as usual.
Additionally, they were instructed to refrain from alcohol consump-
tion and any heavy physical activity the day before the session.
Furthermore, during the 2 h immediately prior to the session
participants were asked to drink only water and avoid any stimulants,
such as coffee, cola, caffeine, tea or chocolate. All participants received
verbal information about the study and signed an informed consent
form about the general procedure of the study and the measurements
taken. Participants were not informed that they would have to wait
for 5 min with another individual. This study was approved by the
ethical committee of the Faculty of Psychology (University of
Valencia).
Stimulus persons
Each participant came into contact with either a male or female
confederate of the experimenter. In order to achieve this, twelve men
and six women played the role of stimulus person. Confederates
(mean age: 23.33 years±0.55) were chosen on the basis of being
moderately attractive falling within an age matched range to the
participants. After the contact period, each participant rated the
attractiveness of the stimulus person they encountered on a scale
from 1 (not attractive) to 7 (very much attractive). The male stimulus
persons received an average attractiveness rating of 2.37 (±0.23) and
the female stimulus persons received a 4.73 (±0.18). All stimulus
persons received the instructions to engage in friendly conversation in
a natural manner, were instructed to act as if they were participants in
the same study, and were told to allow long pauses if the participants
elected not to talk.
Procedure
Upon arrival at the laboratory the participants were greeted by the
male experimenter and were briefed on the general procedure of the
study. To avoid confounds, the experimenter did not engage socially
and kept contact to a minimum. Participants filled in an informed
consent form and their height and weight was measured.
As part of a larger study participants first performed a competitive
computer task which randomly assigned half of the participants to a
winner condition and the other half to a loser condition (for detailed
information see: van der Meij et al., 2010). On this task, participants
competed face-to-face on items similar to those used in intelligence
tests. At the end of the task their computer screen announced if they
had won or lost. Participants were told that winners would receive
€10 and losers €5. However, the outcome of the task was manipulated
by the experimenter and therefore at the end of the experiment each
participant received €10. Subsequent to this study, for each previous
condition half of the participants were then randomly assigned to
have contact with a man and the other half to have contact with a
woman.
Approximately 5 min after having heard the explanation of thestudy participants provided a saliva sample (C1) for the measurement