In a study, researchers at Duke University and the University of Michigan measured testosterone levels in 183 young men and women on polling night, before and after the final results were announced. Normally it would steadily go down in the late hours, but this night wasn’t the case.

The testosterone levels of male backers of McCain and Barr significantly dropped when it became clear that their candidates had lost. Meanwhile Obama supporters’ testosterone did not go down as it should have. Interestingly, female participants of either political affiliation didn’t show any significant change in levels before or after the results announcement.

In a post-election questionnaire, the McCain and Barr voters were feeling significantly unhappier, more submissive, less pleasant and less controlled than the Obama voters.

Taking part in the “macro-scale domination contest” seems to affects us just like more traditional competitions like playing sport games does, says post-doctoral researcher Steven Stanton, one of the authors of a paper appearing in PLOS One open-access peer-reviewed online journal.

"Voters participate in elections both directly by casting their ballots, and vicariously because they don't personally win or lose the election," Stanton said. "This makes democratic political elections highly unique dominance contests."

Researchers plan to study if a similar hormone slump or boost effect can be observed among sports fans.