The Body’s Chemicals Help Control Behavior: The Endocrine System

The nervous system is designed to protect us from danger through its interpretation of and reactions
to stimuli. But a primary function of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems is to
interact with the endocrine system to elicit chemicals that provide another system for influencing
our feelings and behaviors.

A gland in the endocrine system is made up of groups of cells that function to secrete hormones.
Ahormone is a chemical that moves throughout the body to help regulate emotions and behaviors.
When the hormones released by one gland arrive at receptor tissues or other glands, these receiving
receptors may trigger the release of other hormones, resulting in a series of complex chemical chain
reactions. The endocrine system works together with the nervous system to influence many aspects
of human behavior, including growth, reproduction, and metabolism. And the endocrine system
plays a vital role in emotions. Because the glands in men and women differ, hormones also help
explain some of the observed behavioral differences between men and women. The major glands in
the endocrine system are shown in Figure 3.20 "The Major Glands of the Endocrine System".

Figure 3.20 The Major Glands of the Endocrine System

The male is shown on the left and the female on the right.
The pituitary gland, a small pea-sized gland located near the center of the brain, is responsible for
controlling the body’s growth, but it also has many other influences that make it of primary
importance to regulating behavior. The pituitary secretes hormones that influence our responses to
pain as well as hormones that signal the ovaries and testes to make sex hormones. The pituitary
gland also controls ovulation and the menstrual cycle in women. Because the pituitary has such an
important influence on other glands, it is sometimes known as the “master gland.”

Other glands in the endocrine system include the pancreas, which secretes hormones designed to
keep the body supplied with fuel to produce and maintain stores of energy; the pineal gland, located
in the middle of the brain, which secretes melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the wake-sleep
cycle; and the thyroid and parathyroid glands, which are responsible for determining how quickly
the body uses energy and hormones, and controlling the amount of calcium in the blood and bones.

The body has two triangular adrenal glands, one atop each kidney. The adrenal glands produce
hormones that regulate salt and water balance in the body, and they are involved in metabolism,
the immune system, and sexual development and function. The most important function of the
adrenal glands is to secrete the hormones epinephrine (also known as adrenaline)
and norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline) when we are excited, threatened, or stressed.
Epinephrine and norepinephrine stimulate the sympathetic division of the ANS, causing increased
heart and lung activity, dilation of the pupils, and increases in blood sugar, which give the body a
surge of energy to respond to a threat. The activity and role of the adrenal glands in response to
stress provides an excellent example of the close relationship and interdependency of the nervous
and endocrine systems. A quick-acting nervous system is essential for immediate activation of the
adrenal glands, while the endocrine system mobilizes the body for action.

The male sex glands, known as the testes, secrete a number of hormones, the most important of
which is testosterone, the male sex hormone. Testosterone regulates body changes associated with
sexual development, including enlargement of the penis, deepening of the voice, growth of facial and
pubic hair, and the increase in muscle growth and strength. The ovaries, the female sex glands, are
located in the pelvis. They produce eggs and secrete the female
hormones estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is involved in the development of female sexual
features, including breast growth, the accumulation of body fat around the hips and thighs, and the
growth spurt that occurs during puberty. Both estrogen and progesterone are also involved in
pregnancy and the regulation of the menstrual cycle.

Recent research has pinpointed some of the important roles of the sex hormones in social behavior.
Dabbs, Hargrove, and Heusel (1996)Dabbs, J. M., Jr., Hargrove, M. F., & Heusel, C. (1996).
Testosterone differences among college fraternities: Well-behaved vs. rambunctious. Personality
and Individual Differences, 20(2), 157–161. measured the testosterone levels of 240 men who were
members of 12 fraternities at two universities. They also obtained descriptions of the fraternities
from university officials, fraternity officers, yearbook and chapter house photographs, and researcher
field notes. The researchers correlated the testosterone levels and the descriptions of each fraternity.
They found that the fraternities with the highest average testosterone levels were also more wild and
unruly, and one of these fraternities was known across campus for the crudeness of its behavior. On
the other hand, the fraternities with the lowest average testosterone levels were more well behaved,
friendly and pleasant, academically successful, and socially responsible.. Salivary testosterone and
cortisol in delinquent and violent urban subculture. Journal of Social Psychology, 136(1), 49–
56. found that juvenile delinquents and prisoners who had high levels of testosterone also acted
more violently, and Tremblay et al. (1998) Tremblay, R. E., Schaal, B., Boulerice, B., Arseneault, L.,
Soussignan, R. G., Paquette, D., & Laurent, D. (1998). Testosterone, physical aggression, dominance,
and physical development in early adolescence. International Journal of Behavioral Development,
22(4), 753–777. found that testosterone was related to toughness and leadership behaviors in
adolescent boys. Although testosterone levels are higher in men than in women, the relationship
between testosterone and aggression is not limited to males. Studies have also shown a positive
relationship between testosterone and aggression and related behaviors (such as competitiveness) in
women (Cashdan, 2003).Cashdan, E. (2003). Hormones and competitive aggression in
women. Aggressive Behavior, 29(2), 107–115.

It must be kept in mind that the observed relationships between testosterone levels and aggressive

behavior that have been found in these studies do not prove that testosterone causes aggression—the

relationships are only correlational. In fact, there is evidence that the relationship between violence

and testosterone also goes in the other direction: Playing an aggressive game, such as tennis or even

chess, increases the testosterone levels of the winners and decreases the testosterone levels of losers

(Gladue, Boechler, & McCaul, 1989; Mazur, Booth, & Dabbs, 1992),Gladue, B. A., Boechler, M., &

McCaul, K. D. (1989). Hormonal response to competition in human males. Aggressive Behavior,

15(6), 409–422; Mazur, A., Booth, A., & Dabbs, J. M. (1992). Testosterone and chess

competition. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55(1), 70–77. and perhaps this is why excited soccer fans

sometimes riot when their team wins.

Recent research has also begun to document the role that female sex hormones may play in reactions

to others. A study about hormonal influences on social-cognitive functioning (Macrae, Alnwick,

Milne, & Schloerscheidt, 2002)Macrae, C. N., Alnwick, K. A., Milne, A. B., & Schloerscheidt, A. M.

(2002). Person perception across the menstrual cycle: Hormonal influences on social-cognitive

functioning.Psychological Science, 13(6), 532–536. found that women were more easily able to

perceive and categorize male faces during the more fertile phases of their menstrual cycles. Although

researchers did not directly measure the presence of hormones, it is likely that phase-specific

hormonal differences influenced the women’s perceptions.

At this point you can begin to see the important role the hormones play in behavior. But the

hormones we have reviewed in this section represent only a subset of the many influences that

hormones have on our behaviors. In the chapters to come we will consider the important roles that

hormones play in many other behaviors, including sleeping, sexual activity, and helping and harming

others.

KE Y TA KEA WAYS
 The body uses both electrical and chemical systems to create homeostasis.
 The CNS is made up of bundles of nerves that carry messages to and from the PNS
 The peripheral nervous system is composed of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and
the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The ANS is further divided into the sympathetic
(activating) and parasympathetic (calming) nervous systems. These divisions are
activated by glands and organs in the endocrine system.
 Specific nerves, including sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons, each have
specific functions.
 The spinal cord may bypass the brain by responding rapidly using reflexes.
 The pituitary gland is a master gland, affecting many other glands.
 Hormones produced by the pituitary and adrenal glands regulate growth, stress, sexual
functions, and chemical balance in the body.
 The adrenal glands produce epinephrine and norepinephrine, the hormones responsible
for our reactions to stress.
 The sex hormones, testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, play an important role in
sex differences.

E XE RC IS ES A ND C RIT IC AL TH INKING

1. Recall a time when you were threatened or stressed. What physiological reactions did
you experience in the situation, and what aspects of the endocrine system do you think
created those reactions?
2. Consider the emotions that you have experienced over the past several weeks. What
hormones do you think might have been involved in creating those emotions?