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Testosterone drives trial lawyers, study finds The Ottawa Citizen: Wednesday 11 March 1998: Like the Mitch McDeere character played by Tom Cruise in the film version of The Firm, the crusading lawyers in John Grisham's popular novels may be driven by biology as much as by a desire for justice. James Dabbs, a professor at Georgia State University's department of psychology, says the average male trial lawyer has 30 per cent more testosterone than a male lawyer who doesn't argue in the courtroom. "We all have bad tempers," says Doug Adams, an Ottawa litigator. "We're abrasive, we're crude and we're insensitive. Some of us are quite aggressive, almost intolerable and insufferable. Those are the facts." Mr. Dabbs, whose study looked only at testosterone levels in men, says high levels of testosterone can help male trial lawyers succeed. "Testosterone sets up a focus or a frame of mind which sits well with the demands of being a trial lawyer," he said. "Testosterone is not going to predict their behaviour in the courtroom, but it can produce the aggressive temperament necessary for success." Testosterone is the sex hormone that causes thickening facial hair, voice changes and other types of body development in men. Mr. Dabbs says different levels of testosterone can also cause different types of behaviour. "Testosterone is very important in social relations," he said. "I was trying to reduce some behaviour down to biology." Mr. Dabbs said the common public perception of lawyers led him to study their testosterone levels. "The lore, the image of lawyers is that they might have high testosterone levels," he said. "They're thought of as being contentious, combative, wanting to win." He said after he began his research, it became clear that the high testosterone levels applied to only male trial lawyers, and not to others in the legal profession. Mr. Dabbs, who has studied testosterone for 10 years, says blue collar workers have the highest levels. He said stereotypes tend to be true: Male actors and football players, for example, tend to have higher levels of testosterone. Men of the cloth, on the other hand, generally do not. "The stereotype is that they are a more gentle group and they tend to have lower levels of testosterone." Testosterone levels in the human body are quite stable, Mr. Dabbs said. This means people become trial lawyers because of their testosterone levels, rather than developing testosterone by being aggressive lawyers. Mr. Dabbs says that contrary to popular belief, high testosterone levels aren't inherently negative. "People tend to associate high levels with criminals," he said. "High levels combined with a good environment lead to people being successful firemen, for example. High levels combined with a bad environment can lead to people being good criminals." People in general don't like to know their testosterone levels, Mr. Dabbs said. "It bothers them if they are low," he said. "I just don't tell them. If they think they are tough, they don't want to hear the level is low." by Sean Sutherland Copyright 1997 The Ottawa Citizen janet paterson 50-9 / sinemet-selegiline-prozac almonte-ontario-canada / [log in to unmask]