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Dr. Robert Sapolsky discusses the concept that testosterone doesn't create aggression:

The specific lecture is Lecture 20: "Aggression IV" from his Stanford Human Behavioral Biology course. This is the fourth and final part of his discussion about aggression and violence, where he discusses how hormones and evolution have shaped this behavior into the way humans interact today Robert Sapolsky - Wikipedia.

The key points Sapolsky makes about testosterone and aggression include:

1. Testosterone amplifies rather than creates aggression: Aggression actually triggers the release of extra testosterone, not the other way around. A certain baseline level of the male hormone must be present before aggressive acts will occur, but the environmental conditions that set the stage for fights and dominance displays must also be present StanfordmagApple Podcasts.
2. The "volume knob" analogy: He describes it as testosterone will turn up the volume on a given song, but won't start the song in the first place Introduction to Human Behavioral Biology - Robert Sapolsky Rocks.
3. Context matters: Elevated levels of the hormone testosterone does not solely cause aggression but is associated with all forms of social status-preserving behavior. He humorously suggested that giving testosterone to a crowd of Buddhist monks would instead lead to a flurry of random acts of kindness Sapolsky gives lecture on violence, human behavior - The Triangle.

This concept is also thoroughly explored in his book "The Trouble with Testosterone" and his more recent work "Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst." As he puts it: "Testosterone has far less to do with aggression than most assume. Within the normal range, individual differences in testosterone levels don't predict who will be aggressive" Quote by Robert M. Sapolsky: “Testosterone has far less to do with aggression...”.

The full Stanford lecture series is available on YouTube and various archives, with Lecture 20 being the specific one that concludes his comprehensive examination of aggression and hormones.