Here’s presidential election science that may trigger a spit take!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Nerves on edge? Take the long view — Look back to 2008–we were all so young then! Obama versus McCain.
Duke University neuroscientists wondered: Does vicariously participating in contests affect testosterone levels?
THAT big Tuesday, the researchers had one hundred eighty-three volunteers chew gum, then spit into collection tubs, four times throughout the night. Helluva watch party.
And? Male Barack Obama supporters showed stable testosterone levels.
But men who voted for John McCain or Libertarian Robert Barr, showed an immediate, dramatic testosterone DROP. Questionnaires showed they felt more unhappy, submissive, and controlled than Obama voters.
Once again, the expectorate had spoken!
No testosterone change in childless cat ladies — I mean women. Couldn’t resist.
Reference: Stanton, S. J., Beehner, J. C., Saini, E. K., Kuhn, C. M., & Labar, K. S. (2009). Dominance, politics, and physiology: voters’ testosterone changes on the night of the 2008 United States presidential election. PloS one, 4(10), e7543. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007543