“Oxytocin may be critically involved in both ethnocentrism
and parochial altruism.”
-Carsten
de Dreu, University of Amsterdam
Long called the “Love Hormone,” the hormone oxytocin has
been implicated for more than a decade in such prosocial activities as empathy,
trust, and generosity (with both human and animal models). At the social
neuroendocrinology pre-conference at this year’s SPSP conference, some
influential researchers in the field of social psychology laid out why oxytocin
might also have another side that is less fuzzy, and more defensive.
First, Wendy Berry Mendes, Professor at UC San Francisco
showed evidence that intranasal administration of oxytocin—in contexts where a
person is threatened by negative evaluations from others—increases subjective
reports of anger and physiological challenge states indexed by increased
efficiency of the heart, relative to placebo. Under stress, it seems that
oxytocin actually increases approach-oriented states and tendencies.
Second, Carsten de Dreu of the University of Amsterdam
laid out a theoretical model suggesting that oxytocin does not uniformally
increase prosociality, but instead, increases “tend and defend” responses. For
example, people who are administered oxytocin tend to more easily associate
in-group members (Dutch individuals) with positivity and out-group members
(Germans) with negativity, relative to placebo. As a second example, oxytocin
administered participants are also more likely to engage in moral choices where
they harm one individual to save five others when that other individual is
given an out-group (German) versus an in-group (Dutch) name.
Finally, Jennifer Bartz of McGill University discussed
how oxytocin may increase prosocial inferences among people who tend to be less
anxious. For instance, individuals who were less anxiously attached to a
significant other—less anxious of rejection from a person who they love—tended
to recall more positive experiences in childhood with that significant other
when administered oxytocin versus placebo.
All told, the future of oxytocin research seems to lie in
the examination of the precise social factors that lead oxytocin to promote
prosocial responses on one hand, and protective/defensive/aggressive responses
on the other. I’m excited about the future of this research!
If you’re excited too, I’d love to hear your thoughts
about the conference and about the “love hormone” more generally.
De Dreu CK, Greer LL, Handgraaf MJ, Shalvi S, Van Kleef GA, Baas M, Ten Velden FS, Van Dijk E, & Feith SW (2010). The neuropeptide oxytocin regulates parochial altruism in intergroup conflict among humans. Science (New York, N.Y.), 328 (5984), 1408-11 PMID: 20538951
Paul J. Zak, a neuroeconomist at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, did some research which suggests that males tend to seek out more sexual partners when they produce lower amounts of Oxytocin.
ReplyDeletePaul Zak's done a number of very awesome studies on oxytocin and it's role in promoting love, trust, and generosity. He's actually got a new book that looks pretty relevant: The Moral Molecule
DeleteThanks for sharing Edwin!
ReplyDeleteDoes Zak's research indicate causality or is it possible that the males are producing less oxytocin as a *result* of seeking out more sexual partners?
ReplyDeleteI think Zak's work is mostly correlational because he uses blood draws to assay for oxytocin, rather than nasal administration of oxytocin v. placebo.
DeleteReally interesting work. Its good article. Regards.
ReplyDelete