2D:4D values are associated with mathematics performance in business and economics students

Abstract

Prenatal testosterone has organizational effects on adult cognition. The second-to-fourth digit length ratio, which is a proxy of prenatal testosterone exposure, has been linked to a wide variety of sexually differentiated behaviors. We analyze the association between academic performance and the second-to-fourth digit ratio among students at the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Granada (Spain). In a sample of 516 freshmen (304 women), we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between digit ratio and mathematics grades. Males and females show the same pattern. Participants with both high and low digit ratios earn lower grades in mathematics, while participants which have intermediate digit ratios achieve the highest grades in mathematics. We also find that there is no statistically significant relationship between the digit ratio and the average grades earned by students in other courses exceptmathematics taken in the first semester at the Faculty of Business and Economics.