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Heroes, Rogues, and Lovers: Testosterone and Behavior Hardcover – July 25, 2000

3.6 out of 5 stars 18 customer reviews

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies; First Edition edition (July 25, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0071357394
  • ISBN-13: 978-0071357395
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #675,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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By Dennis Littrell HALL OF FAME on September 20, 2001
Format: Hardcover
Males commit violent acts at a rate much greater than women. The vast majority of people in prison are males. One of the reasons is they have more testosterone pumping through their veins than women. Testosterone makes people take chances. It makes them more interested in sex and more aggressive. It makes them into "heroes, rogues and lovers," to quote the title of this interesting book. Testosterone tends to affect low socioeconomic status males more than high status males, and the effects of testosterone can be mitigated by learning. Women also produce testosterone, but at lower levels than men; however, what they do produce affects them more. Women are attracted to high testosterone males, but do not necessarily marry them. Women select males and thereby create the males that exist. We inherit our testosterone levels, and testosterone comes before rambunctiousness, not the other way around. (This last from pages 87-88.)
These are some of the facts gleaned from the research of Professor Dabbs, who is the head of the Social/Cognitive Psychology Program at Georgia State University. This book is a report on that research presented with examples, allusions and references to literature and the popular culture, leading to an easy read. Dabbs, along with his collaborator, his wife, Mary, "a former publicist with several feminist organizations," allows us to see the world through testosterone-shaded glasses, but without prejudice. Their report is balanced and fair. They give us the downside of testosterone and the upside, as implied in their title.
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Format: Hardcover
An interesting topic but the book is ultimately very disappointing. There are far too many anecdotes and not enough hard science -- in particular the interaction of testosterone with other factors such as intelligence or the levels of other hormones is only touched on. The description of the ancestral environment and the role of testosterone in human evolution is comic book at best. The book serves a useful purpose in surfacing the role of hormones in human behavior and demolishing the naive pc supposition that the only differences between men and women are due to education and culture; but leaves the reader wanting more. There is a much better book waiting to be written on this theme.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
A solid study of testosterone's role in our society and how it plays out in occupations, relationships, social behavior, etc. We all know the stereotypes but perhaps don't truly understand the "semi-concious" force of testosterone in the everyday male and how it affects interaction or how its positive traits are suppressed daily, largely by the framework of society, from early childhood on. Heroes is well-written without being overly academic and offers both a historical review of its champions and a modern perspective of testosterone as an operating agent in today's day and age, amongst individuals and groups of individuals.

It seems if we don't allow testosterone to "do it's thing", the affects of suppression remain invalid as a solution to every act of rebellion, whether criminal or heroic. Furthermore, it would seem redirecting this formidable agent of human behavior, could greater benefit society, then the approach we've adopted today. In other words, we can't let a system suffocate and prevail over an aspect of human nature--human survival--and expect its cause to go away; we should reassess the situation, and shift the paradigm towards one which celebrates the positive aspects of testosterone's effects--using it as a means to an end--instead of outright debilitating it altogether.

A great question for a "sequel": What is the role of testosterone in today's society? As it stands today, I'm sure it's ill-boding and maligned...
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I read the book 'Heros, Rogues, and Lovers: Testosterone and Behavior' by James and Mary Dabbs in the midst of the presidential debates between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The book caused me to wonder about the testosterone levels of the two candidates as a possible factor in their demeanor. In the third debate, when Gore strode into Bush's 'personal space' during Bush's speaking turn, I thought "now that's high testosterone and wouldn't it be great to get him to spit to find out!" Perhaps Dr. Dabbs and his students had similar thoughts.
What an interesting ecclectic book. Where to place it on my shelves? Next to the self help books such as 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus'? With the biology and ethology books? Or with my old social psychology books from my college days. Or possibly even in the poetry and literature section. People from all walks of life will find this to be a charming intelligent book about the influence of testosterone on animal and human behavior void of snobbery that so often infects academic works. I especially liked the folksy anecdotes about people and animals that add warmth and color to the book.
Now here's an idea for a commercial offshoot to this work: Would it be possible to produce a testosterone self-test kit similar to pregnancy test kits available in the drug store? If testosterone proves to be such a potent factor in how people get along, well think of the possibilities. Parents of dating-age daughters could screen prospective boyfriends and at least raise warning flags about boys with high testosterone. It could be used on a personal basis as a tool to better understand oneself by tracking fluctuations that possibly lead to mood swings.
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