Testosterone and psychophysiological aspects of personality in sports

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that testosterone, in addition to its well-known anabolic effect, has a relationship with a number of psychological and psychophysiological characteristics. The purpose of the study is to generalize information about the relationship between psychophysiological aspects of personality and the level of testosterone in athletes. Methodology: analysis and generalization of data of modern scientific and methodological literature from scientometric bases and resources of Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus. Research results and their discussion. Research by scientists has shown that high concentrations of basal testosterone are associated with a number of character traits and behavior. Competition, rivalry, competitions affect changes in testosterone levels and cause behavior modification. Scientists express the opinion that the basal level of testosterone before competitions can be an individual biopsychophysiological marker that interacts in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary hormonal axis (HPA) under stress conditions and reflects the degree of dominance, the level of power motivation and obtaining a winning status. In separate studies, the positive effect of testosterone on cognitive functions and visual-spatial abilities was established, the relationship of this hormone with the propensity to take risks, reducing the feeling of fear, increasing attention in the face of threat, which can contribute to the combat readiness of the athlete and the desire to win, was established. Scientists have observed a connection between testosterone and such personality traits as fearless dominance, impulsiveness. Conclusions. According to literary sources, the level of testosterone is associated with a number of psychophysiological and psychological characteristics of an athlete, namely, it increases aggression, the motivation to dominate, which contributes to the motivation to achieve success in sports. High endogenous concentrations of testosterone can provide both a physiological and a psychological advantage in sports. The study of hormonal and psychophysiological parameters can provide an opportunity for a more complete assessment of human stress reactions in the conditions of sports competition.