

On Testosterone: Driving a Porsche vs. Camry - ed
http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/11/more-on-testosterone-levels-driving-a-porsche-vs-toyota-camry.html

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GavinB
It would be great to know whether this is effect continues after driving the
same car for a month or two. It could be somewhat of a novelty that wears off
as soon as one is acclimated.

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silentOpen
So I can buy naturally induced testosterone for only $150,000/yr? Sweet!

To be fair, you could probably do it for much less with only a moderately
obscenely expensive car like something in the $75k range. Factor in resale,
you're looking at driving a freaking sweet car (and getting really _amped_
about it) for only $25,000-40,000/yr! Sweet!

Now if only we had a start-up plan... something to do with life coaches for
the rich and famous?

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davi
From the discussed article [1]:

"The hypotheses implicitly posit increases or decreases in T levels in
relation to an individual’s baseline T. As such, we compared the participants’
two baselines (samples 1 and 6), to assess which of the two would most
accurately represent their true baseline T levels, and hence to determine from
which baseline we would compare their hormonal changes. Upon arriving to the
laboratory, the initial social encounter with the researchers can act as a
differential stressor yielding an increase in participants’ T levels. Thus, in
such instances the final sample might be a better indicator of an individual’s
true baseline than the first (K. E. Wynne-Edwards, personal communication,
October 31, 2005). A paired t-test comparing the two baselines confirmed this
to be true: the T levels of sample 6 were significantly lower than those from
sample 1 (Msample6 = 2.20, SD = .16 vs. Msample1 = 2.26, SD = .21; t-stat =
2.32, df = 30, p < .05). Therefore, to test our hypotheses, we used the
baseline value that stemmed from sample 6."

So, the interpretation of the experiment can be swung either way: it looks
like using the other baseline would have shown that the crappy car depressed
testosterone, and the Porsche had no effect.

[1]
[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi...](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WP2-4WNGD8X-1&_user=209690&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F2009&_rdoc=4&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-
info\(%23toc%236978%232009%23998899997%231548116%23FLA%23display%23Volume\)&_cdi=6978&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=10&_acct=C000014438&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=209690&md5=60743f9b036c4b930d75ef8c2c8d3d57)

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lmkg
I read a similar report a while ago that merely listening to a powerful car
elevated testosterone from saliva samples, in women as well as men. The VW
polo apparently resulted in a lowering of testosterone levels. Also, men and
women responded to different cars. Interesting stuff. I would like to know if
the response differs in females.

[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2667136/Sound-of-
spor...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2667136/Sound-of-sports-car-
engine-arouses-women.html)

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sheena
Or it could be fast driving, not fast cars, that increases testosterone levels
(the difference between highway and downtown driving in both the Porsche and
the Camry group seems to suggest that possibility) -- and people driving
Porsches just tend to drive faster, just like people in red cars tend to drive
faster.

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whatusername
While it seems clear that fast driving increased T levels (both Camry and
Porsche drivers increased from city to country), that isn't all that this
explains.

Depending on what sort of city driving you are doing, the fact that the
porsche has higher T levels in the city than the camry does in the country
says something. The article argues it's the status effect. (I wonder though -
if city driving means stopping (and then accelerating away from) traffic
lights. That would be fun in a porsche - boring in a camry.) I'd like to see
the test done with an accelerometer in the car. (But us armchair scientists
can always find something wrong with an experiment can't we?)

On a related note - I really miss my old 1990 Toyota Camry - I used to be able
to drive it nice and fast on some of the twisty dirt roads around here. Didn't
really care what happened to it in terms of bumps, scratches, stone chips. I
wouldn't do that in a 150K porsche.

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joshu
eight out of thirty-one candidates were disqualified due to excessive blood in
the mouth?

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drinian
Most likely, they were taking the testosterone samples through cheek scrapes
or something similar, I suppose.

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nearestneighbor
I wonder if this effect wears off, if you are driving a Porsche every day.
Also, it would be interesting to see how much of it is due to speed
(passing/cutting off others) and how much is due to the perception of wealth.
Most important, are the changes relevant biologically, i.e. are these changes
on the same scale as what you get in other testosterone-raising circumstances?
</review>

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prewett
I don't think it entirely wears off. I bought a Civic SI (no Porsche, but
still fun to drive), and while the novelty wore off, it's still a lot of fun
to drive, and still just as thrilling to put your foot down and speed past
people...

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pmichaud
This can be explained by placebo. If you expect to feel more impressive and
manly in a porche, then your body will react accordingly. It's not the car,
it's the idea of the car, which is mostly marketing.

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WilliamLP
Of course it's placebo, that's the point. What else could it be, some
substance in the car? The point is that self-perception can influence brain
chemistry and hormone production.

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10ren
Maybe responsiveness; quick acceleration; "Road feel"; admiring looks from
nubile women; defeated looks from men; knowing that you have more power
available than you need; etc.

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utku_karatas2
FWIW, weight lifting could provide all except road feel.

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10ren
_Be_ the porche. And it's free. I've noticed that porche drivers are mostly
older people (presumably because, statistically, they can afford it).

To be picky: it also doesn't provide responsiveness (i.e. agility), but in
isolation tends to muscle boundness. Easy to address with other exercise of
course.

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mace
There are many other ways to increase testosterone levels. One, exercise;
cheaper and has more long term benefits than a Porsche.

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cellis
I've heard weightlifting dramatically decreases testosterone. What type of
exercise are you suggesting?

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spamizbad
Not sure where you heard that. Weightlifting increases testosterone, but it is
known to lowers estrogen levels.

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draven
Various studies have been conducted on the hormonal response to exercise. It
depends on loading schemes and intensity if we're talking lifting. Weigh
lifting also triggers an increase of growth hormone levels post workout.

I also read quite frequently that excessive training (not necessarily to the
point of overtraining, which is quite rare anyway) had a depressing effect on
free T levels. I should look for that on Pubmed.

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modelic3
Studies like these are a joke. Everything in biology is give and take so
measuring something without comparing it to some other marker is completely
useless. When testosterone levels go up, invariably other things go down and
it is much more useful to know how internal variables covary instead of just
"oh look, fast cars means more testosterone" <\- stupid.

