Testosterone Tradeoffs in Close Relationships

"In the media and popular culture, testosterone is often depicted as a hormone that is critical for seemingly “masculine” behaviors, such as competition, sexual prowess, and physical strength. Based on such characterizations, one might assume that testosterone only matters for men, and that, at least for men, the more testosterone the better. In actuality, however, the story is more complicated: First, testosterone is important for both men and women. Second, although there are certainly many benefits of high(er) testosterone, including for attracting and securing sexual partners, lower testosterone may in fact be more beneficial for maintaining close relationships—including with romantic partners and children. In this talk, Robin Edelstein will present work from her lab on testosterone and relationship processes in romantic and parent-child relationships. Taken together, this work demonstrates that (a) in both men and women, testosterone declines as a function of partnering and parenting, (b) lower testosterone facilitates ongoing nurturant relationship processes, and (c) testosterone matters not only for one’s own relationship outcomes but also those of one’s partner.

Dr. Robin Edelstein is a social/personality psychologist with expertise in close relationships, parent-infant and adult romantic attachment, and social neuroendocrinology. Her work is motivated by a desire to understand how important emotional and interpersonal processes, which are typically assumed to apply to all people, may instead differ across people in meaningful ways. Dr. Edelstein is particularly interested in understanding how close relationship experiences (e.g., interactions with romantic partners, major relationship transitions) get “under the skin” to influence people’s physiology, as well as how people’s physiology can influence their relationship outcomes. She also studies individual differences in people’s approaches to and experiences in close relationships; how these differences develop and change over time and across the lifespan; and the implications of these differences for interpersonal and physiological outcomes. Dr. Edelstein received her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from the University of California, Davis. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Irvine, she joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, where she is currently a Professor of Psychology in the Personality and Social Contexts area.

This talk was given on Nov. 17, 2025, as part of the Group Dynamics Seminar series, considered one of the longest-running seminar series in the social sciences. It has been running uninterruptedly since it was founded by Kurt Lewin in the 1920s in Berlin.

Since its establishment in 1948, the Research Center for Group Dynamics’ mission has been to advance the understanding of human behavior in social contexts. Learn more about RCGD and its interdisciplinary Group Dynamics Seminars."