The Hormone of Competition . . .

After a soccer match, the losers’ testosterone levels will probably be lower than the winners’ (though it may be that this won’t be so if the winners think their victory was a fluke). And among the spectators, even fans of the losers will experience a testosterone drop.

Whatever this phenomenon means, it’s reasonable to wonder if it applies to politics as well. According to this study, it does: male McCain voters’ testosterone levels went down after their loss was announced last Election Day, while Obama men’s hormone levels stayed stable.