Masculinity in Milliseconds: An Evolutionary & Neurophysiological Perspective on Expressions of Masculinity

Abstract

There is no consensus on how masculinity is manifested in our species. Here we argue that masculine displays vary in terms of how rapidly they emerge. The most rapid masculine displays are reflexive, primal, and shared with males of other social primate species. We suggest that these behaviors evolved to protect the individuals and others in his social groups from external threats, such as from large predators or aggressors from other troops. This has led to high testosterone individuals displaying reactive aggression, without substantive assessment about their own vulnerability and risk. In this situation, high testosterone impedes cognitive processing, which may require many more milliseconds than may be available if a threat is imminent and unpredictable. At the other extreme, masculine displays are more performative and strategic. They relate to how status is won, lost, and displayed within the social group. These are the behaviors relative to the intraspecific dominance hierarchy and information within the forebrain may be accessed, such as memory, in order to assess risk. Masculine displays of this type take many milliseconds more time in cognitive processing than the first type. The contrast proposed here is consistent with the fact that high testosterone individuals are prone to display more risky behaviors, and concurrently are less likely to be diagnosed with clinical depression or anxiety. Our analysis provides both an evolutionary and neuroendocrinological explanation for the persistence of masculine traits that have been recognized by sociologists as hegemonic, but not necessarily adaptive in modern social settings.