谁是占尽风头的大男人？问问荷尔蒙吧。

Who'll Be the Alpha Male? Ask the Hormones

谁是占尽风头的大男人？问问荷尔蒙吧。

Any time two or more people come together, one of them automatically and subconsciously establishes dominance. That's the reality of being a mammal. We're social creatures; a place in the hierarchy is a matter of life and death. We need allies to protect us, to fight with us, to groom us and help us bear and raise children. So our brains contain circuitry that automatically find a place for us in the social structure. Some dominate, others submit.

任何时候当有几个人聚到一块，其中一位就会自然而然地、下意识地获地一种主导地位。这是作为哺乳动物所要面对的一个事实。我们是社会化的动物，在某时某地的等级结构对我们来说是一件生死攸关的事。我们需要同伴来保护我们、为我们战斗、养活我们、帮助我们养育后代。因此，我们的大脑便具有了一种机制，这一机制自动为我们在某一社会结构中找到自己的位子。一些人主导了场面，另一些人则顺从称臣。

But how do our brains decide who will come out on top?

但是那些主导了场面的人究竟何以如此出类拔萃呢？

The answer lies in phenomena that take place far below our conscious awareness. Indeed, the circuitry responsible for dominance operates so deep within our brains that much of its workings are accessible only in occasional glimpses. All the rituals of greeting and etiquette, for instance, are functions of our automatic social circuitry: waving hello, hugging, and shaking hands are all part of the stereotyped behavior that cements our social bond with others.

原因在于一种深植于潜意识的现象。实际上，这种可以决定我们的主导性、我们的风头会如何的机制是如此的隐秘，以至于只有很偶然的机会才可以瞥见其真面目。所有的礼节和应酬皆出自这一自动化和社会化的大脑机制，比如：打招呼、拥抱、握手等等定式化的行为凝结成了我们与他人的社会关系。

I've long been mystified, at a personal level, by the way that some people, and men especially, seem to have a natural knack for command. They enter a room, and everyone seems to automatically pivot their attention toward them. (An easy way to tell who has established social dominance: when they talk, no one talks over them.) Some might imagine that a typical "alpha male" is going to be brash, assertive, overbearing. But in my experience, that's rarely the case. The men who can quietly command a room tend to be, not loud, but quiet: often, listeners, connectors, mild-mannered, and physically unassuming. What is it about these men? What gives them their seemingly mystical aura?

长时间以来，我个人对一种颇为神秘的现象很感兴趣，那就是总有一些人（特别是一些男人）拥有那种可以主导场面的天赋。他们走进某个房间，然后所有人的注意力似乎就自动地围绕这些人而转动了。有些读者可能会认为，一个典型的“大男人”是一个傲慢的、专断的、自大的家伙，但是就我的经验而言，事实并非如此。这些可以不露声色就控制众人眼球的家伙很可能是温和的倾听者、友善、举止优雅、姿态谦虚的人。那么、这些人究竟怎么了？是什么赋予了他们这样的光环？

A slew of fascinating new studies suggests that dominance process depends on on the complex interaction of just a handful of crucial hormones.

新近大量的研究表明，这种“主导场面”的行为主要取决于几种至关重要的荷尔蒙的交互作用。

One of the most important, rather unsurprisingly, is testosterone, the hormone of aggression and dominance. Now, testosterone is not a mind altering drug. It's not like caffeine, where you can feel that you're hepped up. But it's important in moderating behavior, especially by boosting decisiveness. When a sport team is locked in a tough match with a longtime rival, the testosterone levels of all its members will go up if they win. If they lose, their testosterone levels will plummet. This gives rise to the so-called Winner Effect, where athletes who are victorious become more likely to win the next time.

其中最为重要的一种荷尔蒙（不难猜到）就是睾丸酮，这是导致攻击性和主导性的激素。不过这回睾丸酮并不是改变心理状态的药物。咖啡因会使你感到兴奋不已，而睾丸酮和咖啡因不一样。不过它对于调节我们的行为，特别是“决断行为”，至关重要。当一只运动队和他的死对头陷入激战，如果他们赢了，每一位队员的睾丸酮水平就会上升；如果输了，睾丸酮水平就会骤降。这就产生了所谓“胜者效应”：取得胜利的运动员在下一次比赛时更容易取胜。

The level of testosterone alone, however, is not a good measure of a man's dominance. Its effects are heavily influenced by the levels of another hormone, cortisol, which the body releases in response to stress. A study just published in the journal Hormones and Behavior pitted men against one another in a simple competition, then allowed the losers to choose whether or not they wanted to have another crack at the contest. All of the men with high testosterone and low cortisol wanted to compete again. All of the men with high testosterone and high cortisol -- indicating a state of stress -- declined the opportunity. They were experiencing the flip side of the Winner's Effect.

但是，仅仅睾丸酮一种激素是不足以决定一个人的主导性的。它所产生的效应还会受到另一种荷尔蒙——皮质醇——的显著影响。当个体应付应激情景时，就会分泌这种皮质醇。在《荷尔蒙与行为杂志》上刚发表了一项研究，这一研究把被试置于一种简单的竞争情景中，然后让失败者选择是否愿意再战。所有睾丸酮水平高、皮质醇水平低的被试都愿意再战；所有睾丸酮高、皮质醇也高（说明个体处于应激状态）的被试都无心再战。他们尝到了“胜者效应”带给失败者的苦头。

And there's a third brain chemical that comes into play. Another important hormone involved in regulating social beahavior is oxytocin, the so-called "love hormone." When lovers cuddle or a mother breastfeeds, their levels of oxytocin shoot up. Oxytocin is all about bonding. People with higher levels of the hormone are better at reading the facial expressions of others. Not only does oxytocin tie the members of a social group together, but it plays an important role in moderating stress and fear.

还有第三种脑化学物质也是不可或缺的。这就是“催产素”，即所谓的“爱之荷尔蒙”，它参与调解人们的社会行为。当情侣相互搂抱、母亲哺乳婴儿时，他们体内的催产素水平就会急速上升。催产素对于感情依恋至为重要。催产素水平高的个体更容易读懂别人的面部表情。它不仅把社会群体的诸成员连接在一起，而且在调解应激和恐惧的过程中扮演重要角色。

In my book, I discuss a study which found that people who have recently had penetrative sexual intercourse have less social phobia when asked to give a speech in front of strangers. A more recent study provided an even starker picture of the importance of oxytocin: it found that people with a mutant version of an oxytocin-receptor gene were both less empathic and more prone to stress.

在我的书里面，我曾讨论过一项研究，这项研究发现那些最近经历过彻骨的性交体验的个体在面对陌生人发言时，有相对更少的社交恐惧。另一项新近的研究发现了催产素更令人震惊的重要作用：那些催产素受体基因出现突变的个体更易冷酷无情，更易于处于应激之中。

A man's status in the hierarchy, then, depends on a complicated dance of hormones that goes on at an unconscious level within his own bloodstream. And it all starts, not with aggression and dominance, but with empathy and bonding. A strong sense of connection to others in the group increases levels of oxytocin, which moderate stress and allows high levels of testosterone to promote competitive behavior.

一个人在社会等级中的位置依赖于这些荷尔蒙的复杂交互作用，而这一在我们的血液中发生的相互作用是在无意识水平进行的。这一过程首先不是基于“进攻性和统治性”，而是首先基于“移情和感情连接”。对于社会群体中的他人产生强烈的感情会导致催产素水平上升，而这种激素会调节应激状态并且使得高水平的睾丸酮引发出竞争性行为。

When it comes to being an Alpha Male, then, the hormones tell the true story: it's more important to be a lover than a fighter.

说到成为一个“大男人”，荷尔蒙揭示了其间的秘诀：做一个爱人比做一个斗士更为重要。

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