This article at The Economist has nothing to do with marketing, and yet possibly everything to do with it in the near future. A fascinating study found that men with high testosterone levels make economic decisions in an entirely different way than those with lesser amounts.
Researchers made an alteration to the classic game theory experiment where one subject splits a pot of money with another subject. The splitter obviously wants to keep as much to himself but the catch is, the “splitee” has the right to accept or reject the offer. Either both get money, or neither.
In a one-off game, pure logic would dictate you always take the offer. Hey, free money! But experimentally, this is never the outcome. People will sacrifice their own well-being to punish Scrooges. Evidently, especially so for men with high testosterone. From the article:
As he [Dr. Terence Burnham of Harvard University] describes in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, the responders who rejected a low final offer had an average testosterone level more than 50% higher than the average of those who accepted. Five of the seven men with the highest testosterone levels in the study rejected a $5 ultimate offer but only one of the 19 others made the same decision.
That’s right, the chemicals coursing through our veins actually influence economic decisions. Can you imagine it? Marketing groups determining “molecular demographics” and tailoring their marketing accordingingly? Very ”1984″ (ya know, that ref just doesn’t pack the same punch now that it’s 20 years in the past). Wait! Have you ever noticed how the grandma handing out bratwurst samples at the grocery store has a little cup (not a trashcan!) in which to put your used toothpick?! Holy shit! They’re taking saliva samples! They’re already tracking us - get out your hats!
