Testosterone Show Assignment - 30
pts
Review your
notes about the early developmental/organizational effects of
hormones and the later-in-life activational effects of
hormones on body and, importantly, brain. Then listen to the
first three cases in the Testosterone episode (linked to our
syllabus) from the National Public Radio Show called This
American Life, and interpret or explain these segments in
terms of the organizing OR activating effects of testosterone.
You may copy and past this assignment to a Wrod document so
that you can adjust the spacing to your answers.
Case 1 – A Male Who Has Lost All
Testosterone
How does his psychological functioning appear to be
influenced by the loss of testosterone? What things decrease?
What things increase?
Is this change
more likely to be related to the organizational or the activational effects of hormones? (Explain)
Do you think
the experienced changes in visual appreciation may reflect a
basic difference in the way that testosterone-stimulated vs low-testosterone individuals (i.e.
males vs
females) experience the world?
Case 2 – A
Female Who Sought a Sex Change and Received High Doses of
Testosterone
How does this
person’s psychological and
behavioral functioning appear to be influenced by the
high doses of testosterone? What things decrease? What things
increase?
Is this change
more likely to be related to the organizational or the activational effects of hormones?
(Explain)
How about this
person’s original gender dissatisfaction and her need to seek a sex change. Is this
more likely to be related to the organizational or the activational effects of hormones?
(Explain)
Do you think you would change cognitively,
emotionally, and behaviorally if you went through a large
change in testosterone levels (either up or down)?
Case 3 –
Nine adults have their daily blood levels of androgens
measured.
Within each
gender, what are the characteristics of the individual(s) with
the highest level?
The lowest level?
Did high or
low testosterone levels relate to behavior in the ways you
expected? What fit and what surprised you?