Salivating over Ultimate

Ulti-Mating Behavior studied on the Ultimate Frisbee field.

Adaptive Attunement to the Sex of Individuals at a Competition: The Ratio of Opposite- to Same-Sex Individuals Correlates with Changes in Competitors' Testosterone Levels
[Saul L. Miller, Jon K. Manera, James K. McNulty]

Summary: Psychologists studied the mostly twenty-something coed players of the Tallahassee Ultimate Frisbee League. They measured testosterone levels before and after each game during the Ultimate tournament, and they counted the total number of men & women watching or playing each game. The testosterone (steroid hormone) of both men & women players tended to increase during the game, but men's testosterone was especially sensitive to the proportion of women watching or playing, while women's testosterone was especially sensitive to the proportion of men watching or playing.


Abstract: Evolutionary theories (e.g., the challenge hypothesis) suggest that testosterone plays an important role in intrasexual competition. In addition, those theories suggest that testosterone responses during competition should depend upon the presence of potential, immediate mating opportunities associated with the competition. The current research tested the hypothesis that the sex composition of individuals at a competition (ratio of opposite-sex, potential mates to same-sex individuals) would influence changes in competitors' testosterone levels. Consistent with our hypotheses, higher ratios of opposite- to same-sex individuals at an ultimate frisbee tournament were associated with greater increases in salivary testosterone among competitors. The relationship between sex ratio and increased salivary testosterone was observed for both male and female competitors and occurred regardless of whether competitors won or lost. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that testosterone responses during competition are influenced by cues of potential, immediate mating opportunities (e.g. attracting new romantic partners).

Data: Men's change in testosterone (solid line) from pregame to postgame was positively related to the ratio of female-to-male individuals at the game. Women's change testosterone (dotted line) was negatively related to the female-to-male ratio. (i.e. positively related to the ratio of males to females).

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