Monday, August 24, 2009

A new study finds that women with higher levels of testosterone are more likely to act like men when it comes to rolling the dice on investments.

Men naturally have higher levels of testosterone than women. Researchers decided to take a closer look at whether testosterone played a role in the willingness of an investor to take risks.

In a sample set, 36% of female MBA students chose high-risk financial careers like investment banking or trading, compared to 57% of male students.

But when the testosterone levels of more than 500 students were tested, the researchers found that women with higher levels of the hormone were almost seven times more likely to take risks than women with lower levels.

The research appears on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences website.