No Evidence That Testosterone Reduces Cognitive Empathy

A close-up of a smiling couple facing each other with an affectionate gaze. Both wear watches, and one wears large earrings. — The new study refutes the findings of an older one that suggested testosterone was associated with an impaired ability to infer the emotional states of others.

A comprehensive analysis led by Gideon Nave from the Wharton School challenges previous assumptions linking testosterone to reduced cognitive empathy, a trait impaired in autism, by conducting large-scale studies that found no causal relationship. This research contests the ‘extreme male brain’ hypothesis and encourages further investigation into autism’s origins without simplifying it to testosterone effects.