Motivation
To examine the interaction of perceived control and testosterone on persistence in the face of defeat.
Perceived Control and Motivation
The amount of control people think they have over something can greatly affect how they experience failure or defeat. For example, if someone is convinced that they can solve a problem, then they are likely to persist in trying to solve the problem, even if they fail at first (see Self-Efficacy and Academic Motivation). Perceived control is interesting because it does not always reflect actual control. It can be manipulated so that people experience high levels of perceived control in situations that are obviously out of their control. People continue to gamble though the house always wins.
This study examined the role of perceived control on persistence in a competition against an opponent that became increasingly difficult to beat. Consistent with the literature, those with high perceived control persisted in the competition longer than those with low perceived control. However, the study also examined the interaction of exogenous testosterone on this effect. Participants (all men) who received exogenous testosterone, regardless of whether they had low or high perceived control, persisted in the competition as long as those who had high perceived control and received a placebo. The results suggest that testosterone increases persistence in the face of defeat, even with low perceived control.
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