2D:4D and Self-Employment: A Preregistered Replication Study in a Large General Population Sample. (January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fossen, Frank M.; Neyse, Levent; Johannesson, Magnus; Dreber, Anna
• Is Part Of: Entrepreneurship theory and practice. Volume 46:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 21
• Page End: 43
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Subjects: self-employment -- entrepreneurship -- hormones -- testosterone -- digit ratio; Small business -- Periodicals; New business enterprises -- Periodicals; Entrepreneurship -- Periodicals; 658.421
• DOI: 10.1177/1042258720985478
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1042-2587

Abstract

The 2D: 4D digit ratio, the ratio of the length of the second finger to the length of the fourth finger, is often considered a proxy for testosterone exposure in utero. A recent study reported, among other things, an association between the left-hand 2D:4D and self-employment in a sample of 974 adults. In this preregistered study, we replicate the 2D:4D results on a sample of more than 2100 adults from the German Socioeconomic Panel-Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS). We find no statistically significant associations between 2D:4D and self-employment.