Science & Technology

How Testosterone and Culture Shape Behavior | Carole K. Hooven | TED

Drawing on her research into the science of play, evolutionary biologist Carole K. Hooven delves into how testosterone impacts the body and brain, interacting with culture to create differences in human behavior — starting with why boys tend to prefer rougher play than girls. If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a…

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Drawing on her research into the science of play, evolutionary biologist Carole K. Hooven delves into how testosterone impacts the body and brain, interacting with culture to create differences in human behavior — starting with why boys tend to prefer rougher play than girls.

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41 Comments

  1. @NickTheMagnificent

    September 2, 2024 at 2:23 pm

    Wait, so nature is real?!?

  2. @user-ch4mm7dy3g

    September 2, 2024 at 4:31 pm

    Carole left TED here with death and doxxing threats,giving that talk to that audience was ballsy

  3. @altair-x

    September 2, 2024 at 4:32 pm

    How can one learn reproductive skills through play? what does play have to do with reproduction? Yes it may be related to it, but the link isn’t direct.

    • @lilu_multipass_5thelement_1995

      September 3, 2024 at 12:28 am

      As a chid-free, I don’t wanna hear anything about these skills.

    • @u.Iz_slc

      September 3, 2024 at 1:03 am

      where did she claim that it helps in learning reproductive skills?

    • @altair-x

      September 3, 2024 at 2:27 am

      @@u.Iz_slc view the manuscript, you’ll find it eventually.

    • @u.Iz_slc

      September 3, 2024 at 3:21 am

      @@altair-x manuscript? how do acces it? what is it?

    • @altair-x

      September 3, 2024 at 4:34 am

      @@u.Iz_slc It should be bellow the video description.

  4. @dryzalizer

    September 2, 2024 at 4:32 pm

    I wish she had worked in the behavioral expectations at school and why boys are lagging so far behind girls in education.

  5. @-AkhilTej-

    September 2, 2024 at 4:44 pm

    🧬💎🏆 Great insightful & fruitful video 🏆💎🧬

    लोकः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु
    ( May all beings lead prosperous life across Globe 🌍 )

  6. @jimscherer8072

    September 2, 2024 at 5:00 pm

    The issue is with TRT/HGH. Young men who think injecting/ingesting test to make them bigger and stronger is beneficial.

  7. @ghassankabbach2006

    September 2, 2024 at 5:01 pm

    Crazy how such a boring self evident topic that would have excited no one a few years back, is now somehow top exciting controversial stuff. Nice talk. Good for her.

  8. @onepiece-cz2vp

    September 2, 2024 at 5:21 pm

    lucky kid

  9. @PeterZeeke

    September 2, 2024 at 6:21 pm

    Rip comments sections

  10. @sheilaross1449

    September 2, 2024 at 6:34 pm

    Ok, her ultimate thesis is, I think, not terribly controversial. I mean, there’s not much to it, and crying about her son’s embryonic testicles is a little odd, but – and I say this as a trans ally who knows a number of trans people – there’s nothing on the surface here about the point she seems to be trying to make that I find offensive.

    I do find it odd that she felt the need to specifically bring up trans people right in the beginning – and then never mention them again – when this talk is allegedly just about how hormones affect behaviour. I mean, yes, of course they do. And yes, from a strictly reproductive standpoint, yes, there are two sets of “equipment” involved. Like, no s&#$@t Sherlock. But why bring transgenderism into this?

    Yes, to some extent hormones are involved, obviously, but if that were the only factor, wouldn’t simple HRT stop gender dysphoria? It doesn’t seem to. It’s almost like being trans involves a whole bunch of factors. Perhaps we should trust the direct experience of medical professionals who work with trans people on the regular, rather than specialists in one tiny area that just happens to relate to a much bigger picture.

    Also of note is what comes up when you Google her. A lot of connections to right wing media. Her defending her choice to appear on Fox News (which, I remind you, isn’t actually a trustworthy news source) talking about this stuff. An article on why she quit Harvard complaining about DEI, featured in The Free Press (which currently has an article on its front page about how it should be okay to say a transphobic slur because gay men made it up and have been saying it for years). Continued discussion of Imane Khelif’s case when it’s obvious she was a cis woman all along. If you are truly trying to be banal and neutral, then maybe consider the company you keep?

    No, I don’t think she should be harassed and threatened. But also, if it’s not about trans people, then stop bringing them up. Stop attacking simple efforts to make the world more inclusive.

    Also, what exactly is her point here? Boys will be boys? Ok then. Real earth shattering.

    • @6Diego1Diego9

      September 3, 2024 at 6:50 am

      Her husband Alex Byrne, is an anti-trans activist.

  11. @takumiyamasaki261

    September 2, 2024 at 7:49 pm

    15 minutes of video on a TED talk … and she just say nothing relevant!

  12. @Kyp031

    September 2, 2024 at 8:43 pm

    I’m here for the comments. Didn’t even watch because I don’t care.

  13. @SiobhanIsntShane

    September 2, 2024 at 10:44 pm

    As a trans woman (i feel this clarifier is needed for this haha) this was really interesting to watch, and I really wonder how the intersection of biology and culture intersect to get people like me to exist.
    Interesting talk! 🙂

    • @u.Iz_slc

      September 3, 2024 at 1:09 am

      I dont know much about trans people, but is it possible that many of them simply have a hormone inbalance or experience of sexual abuse when being young or things like that?
      I dont want to come aross as confrontational, but I am curious what you think and know about this as a trans woman.
      I believe that most of those kind of people are not born with these tendencies or feelings, but rather experiences and inbalance in the body becasue of things we eat or do.

    • @SiobhanIsntShane

      September 3, 2024 at 1:24 am

      @@u.Iz_slc sexual abuse is not really a factor in it lol. Out of the many trans people I know, none of them were sexually abused as children. Hormone imbalance is also rare, but still possible.

      I think it’s more likely to be about cultural experiences rather than anything else. Because the base of human behaviour might be based in biology, but the way we express gender is more cultural than anything else, there is still very little difference between male and female sexes than people believe.
      It’s sad how people have turned a kind of fun side effect of humans being trans or gay into being something immoral and wrong.

    • @SiobhanIsntShane

      September 3, 2024 at 1:25 am

      @@u.Iz_slc also thanks for being curious, people usually shut off when they hear anything about trans issues

    • @vnxn10

      September 4, 2024 at 3:57 pm

      ​@@SiobhanIsntShane yh cos it’s not normal

    • @SiobhanIsntShane

      September 4, 2024 at 6:06 pm

      @@vnxn10 lmao, I’m aware

  14. @justingriffin2546

    September 2, 2024 at 11:21 pm

    Why did the Elites (corporations) put additives in the USA food supply so testosterone levels are the lowest on record? They don’t seem to want strong men….I wonder why…

  15. @ainakale1796

    September 3, 2024 at 2:35 am

    Testosterone does not induce aggression, study shows
    University of Zurich
    New scientific evidence refutes the preconception that testosterone causes aggressive, egocentric, and risky behavior. A study with more than 120 experimental subjects has shown that the sexual hormone with the poor reputation can encourage fair behaviors if this serves to ensure one’s own status.

  16. @6Diego1Diego9

    September 3, 2024 at 6:46 am

    Her husband Alex Byrne is an anti-trans activist. Hooven also focuses on making people “comfortable in their own bodies,” a frequent dog whistle used by critics of trans healthcare.

  17. @matthewjay660

    September 3, 2024 at 8:56 am

    So many of my female teacher colleagues do not subscribe to these beliefs and constantly suppress my boys when they want to play rough on the playground and in gym. I let my boys play roughly with each other AND surveil over then when they do. 👨🏻‍🏫👦

  18. @iskillmind

    September 3, 2024 at 10:37 am

    Thank you 🎉

  19. @user-to2rf1rj5v

    September 3, 2024 at 11:33 am

    0:07 She got this wrong. Every single person in that room has testosterone flowing through them. Same with estrogen.

    • @carolehooven4134

      September 3, 2024 at 1:58 pm

      0:43 “This is testosterone. Both sexes have it, but men have much more than women, about 15 to 20 times more.”

    • @yoonp.6140

      September 4, 2024 at 7:27 am

      You got her wrong

  20. @donaldauguston9740

    September 3, 2024 at 2:51 pm

    Outstanding talk. I’d love for this woman to do a follow up video. DA

  21. @erik_midtskogen

    September 4, 2024 at 3:52 am

    I recently got to experience in my own body how changes in testosterone and estrogen affect the mind. As part of treatment for prostate cancer, I was injected with drugs for the purpose of lowering my testosterone to a small fraction of the level that even women have. It started with Firmagon, which, I believe, mainly affects testosterone while leaving estrogen levels intact. I didn’t notice much change. Maybe I had a little less vigor and energy, but it was no big deal. Then, simply because Lupron was available in a long-lasting shot, and to spare everyone the inconvenience of repeated visits for shots, I was switched to Lupron, which was originally developed for the purpose of lowering estrogen levels, and lowers testosterone more as a side-effect. That was when the “fun” began. I was so depressed, absent-minded, and cognitively disordered that I could barely function. I know I got an extreme example of lowered estrogen (much lower than that of menopausal women), and yet, I have to express my admiration for women’s ability to function while their estrogen levels are fluctuating up and down, and not end up killing themselves or others. It has a much stronger effect on the mimd than testosterone, based on my experience.

  22. @klarinuskuipers8999

    September 4, 2024 at 6:34 am

    Focussing on a single variable Testosterone does not explain why plenty of women are more dominant than men. Especially considering they almost always have 20 times less Testosterone than their partner. Testosterone is similar to adrinaline. The male body produces more energy than that of a female because of testosterone. Testosterone leads to more physical restlessness in the male body and learning how to deal with this restlessness is vital. As the speaker said, Supressing this energy and restlessness is never a good option and only leads to more social problems when that male is an adult. Fearing or resenting this restlessness in young males is common in many western societies. And as a result all to often we force and surpress this energy. And by doing so create the men we will fear and resent. Mothers have an active role in this either way.

  23. @XrsN

    September 4, 2024 at 1:27 pm

    testosterone theories are the fashionable female supremacist hate propaganda to ascribe ‘less desirable’ translate: inferior qualities to males. she talks alot about apes and rats not so much humans. of course no one’s going to associate estrogen with anything let alone undesirable behavior-cause that would be sexist

  24. @user-by3io4gn6e

    September 4, 2024 at 2:31 pm

    رفتارهای مذکر گونه در انسانهای مذکر با رفتار های گوناگون خرد و کلان ،،همین اصل در گونه های مذکر غیر انسانی هم قابل مشاهده هست،،حتی در پیوند گونه برخی از درختان دوباره به اصل خودشان بر می گرنند ..

  25. @B.Michael.3.0

    September 4, 2024 at 11:18 pm

    This was disappointing for many reasons. The quality of TED talks has plummeted. It used to be about topics of curiosity, enlightenment, and encourage intellectual debate. This is silly surface propaganda that belongs on TikTok. I really don’t think the underlining testosterone science is incorrect, it’s just not TED talk worthy. It’s sort of a 101 class. Maybe elementary school level of thought.

  26. @RoxyBarto

    September 5, 2024 at 3:15 pm

    psychprofile AI fixes this. Testosterone and culture shape behavior.

  27. @WizardImp

    September 5, 2024 at 3:29 pm

    Why even bring up the trans thing? Just let the talk speak for itself.

  28. @Methadras

    September 5, 2024 at 7:15 pm

    Science shouldn’t be a weaponized language and anyone who engages with science from that vein is neither science based but rather is a dishonest person.

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