So it turns out that male thirst for name-brand luxury goods has less to do with personal taste, and more to do with testosterone levels, according to a recent study detailed by Fortune.
Conducted over the course of a day, the study was relatively straightforward: “More than 240 participants were split into two groups… one was given single doses of a topical testosterone gel, while the other was given a placebo.” After which, each was “assigned a battery of behavioral tasks and surveys,” the results of which left very little ambiguity.
“[W]e find that administering testosterone increases men’s preference for status brands, compared to brands of similar perceived quality but lower perceived status,” the authors wrote.
The study also found that “testosterone increases positive attitudes toward positional goods when they are described as status-enhancing, but not when they are described as power-enhancing or high in quality,” which means that given a choice of quality, performance, or label clout, testosterone will always choose the latter.
So that Rolex you’ve been thinking about purchasing? Yeah, that’s probably because of your balls. The more you know.
You can read more about it at Fortune.
