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Trial Lawyers and Testosterone: Blue‐Collar Talent in a White‐Collar World 1
Author(s) -
Dabbs James M.,
Alford Elizabeth Carriere,
Fielden Julie A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01655.x
Subject(s) - collar , blue collar , white (mutation) , testosterone (patch) , psychology , dominance (genetics) , supreme court , significant difference , social psychology , law , medicine , political science , demographic economics , business , biology , biochemistry , finance , economics , gene
Three studies considered whether trial lawyers, in their hormones and their language, might be regarded as blue‐collar workers of the legal system. Study 1 found that lawyers as a group had testosterone levels similar to other white‐collar workers and lower than blue‐collar workers. Study 2 found that male and female trial lawyers had testosterone levels higher than nontrial lawyers of the same gender; the difference between lawyer types was approximately the same as the difference between blue‐ and white‐collar workers. Study 3 found that trial lawyers used fewer cognitive mechanisms than did appellate lawyers in oral arguments before the Supreme Court. High levels of testosterone are associated with energy, dominance, persistence, combativeness, and focused attention, qualities that are useful both in trial lawyering and blue‐collar work.