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1. A Sweet Side to Testosterone?A Comparative Article Analysis on the Effects of Testosterone on Honesty Examples: ABC News- the article was witty and humorous in order to engage the reader and entertain them, as shown in the quote from the article: “So testosterone has been getting a bum rap. You doubt us? Want to fight about it?” PLOS ONE- the article was research-based and very straight-forward, no direct conclusion were made in order to report accurate findings, as shown in the quote from the article: “At the current stage, we can only speculate about the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of testosterone administration on lying.” Introduction: A comparison of the ABC News popularization piece and the scientific study published by PLOS ONE that the article is based off The similarities and difference of the forums, as wells as the articles are detailed and explained. Examples are also provided. Background: A double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment was performed to determine testosterone’s effect on lying. In this experiment, 45 men received a placebo while the other 46 men received 50mg of testosterone. Their self-reported payoff was recorded to determine testosterone’s hormonal influence on lying. • Audience- individuals or communities with scientific/medical background, educators, policy makers • Needs- knowledge about a specific topic or study of interest • Purposes- further research/policies, teaching, raising awareness • Genres- biology, medicine, computation biology, genetics, pathogens, neglected tropical diseases • Types- internet only • Audience- general public, basically everyone • Needs- knowledge about what is going on in the world/nation, entertainment • Purposes- educate others, take action, be enlightened • Genres- politics, health, entertainment, money, technology, travel (very broad) • Types- Television, radio, and internet Forum Comparison: Comment and discussion area for each article Target people specifically interested to subject matter Education and teaching purposes Editing/review process Reputation to uphold, must report/publish correct information Similarities: Both articles tied testosterone’s effect on lying in with a person’s self-image. They mentioned that the hormone is linked with pride which in turn makes a person want to do the “better” thing. Both articles also mentioned the presumption that testosterone causes aggression. Graphics: Differences: The graphic in the PLOS ONE article served the sole purpose of educating the reader about the results of the experiment. The graph shows the frequency (%) of reported payoff when testosterone vs a placebo was administrated. The graphics used in the ABC News article were generally related to the article (the public’s perception of testosterone). They served the purpose of grabbing the reader’s attention, not educating the reader. Claim Style Explanation Tone