After the elections, once the winners are known, male voters who supported them maintain stable levels of testosterone , while supporters of the losers of suffrage suffer a drop in testosterone levels , according to a study by Duke University and the University of Michigan, in the United States. This decline in the quintessential male hormone is especially pronounced 40 minutes after results are known. "Voters are physiologically affected depending on whether their candidate wins or loses the election," explains neuroscientist Kevin LaBar, co-author of the study published in the journal PLOS One .
Testosterone is a steroid hormone produced in the testicles and linked to aggressiveness, the ability to take risk, and response to threats. Women also produce it in less quantity and in different organs (ovaries and adrenal glands), which makes them less sensitive to experiencing rapid changes in testosterone after a victory or a defeat.
Researchers postulate that similar hormonal changes occur after a soccer or basketball game, as well as in other competitions.
