The Neuropeptide Oxytocin Induces a Social Altruism Bias

Abstract

Current psychological concepts of social and ecological responsibility emphasize the relevance of altruism, suggesting that more altruistic individuals are more likely to engage in sustainable behaviors. Emerging evidence indicates a central role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in promoting altruism. Whether this influence extends to ecological responsibility or is limited to the social domain remains unknown. In two independent experiments involving 172 human participants, we addressed this question by exposing subjects to a sustainability-related monetary donation task, with the option to support either socially or ecologically framed charities. We found that oxytocin induced a context-dependent change in altruistic behavior away from pro-environmental toward pro-social donations, while keeping constant the overall proportion of donated money. This pro-social bias transcended to the domain of sustainable consumption. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that altruistic priorities vary as a function of oxytocin system activity, which has implications for the promotion of pro-environmental attitudes and eco-friendly behaviors.

How the brain codes intimacy: The neurobiological substrates of romantic touch

“…This pattern of results is consistent with our previous observations that OXT enhances activation in the ACC, OFC, and insula during pleasant touch [Scheele et al, 2014a]. Clearly, OXT does not induce global changes in the sensitivity to tactile stimulation, but rather produces differential social effects depending on the perceived context Marsh et al, 2015;Olff et al, 2013]. The modulatory impact of OXT on NAcc activation may be more pronounced in the context of response to one's partner [Scheele et al, 2013.…”

Oxytocin-enforced norm compliance reduces xenophobic outgroup rejection

“…However, this effect was mainly driven by the higher donations of the X i low scorers (Fig. 1C), and therefore is in line with evidence emphasizing a sensitivity of OXT IN effects to person-and context-dependent factors (19,37,38). Whereas previous studies have focused either on the efficacy of ingroup norms as a potential means of stabilizing altruistic cooperation (28) or on the facilitating effects of OXT signaling on social conformity (23,24), none have combined both interventions to enhance social norm adherence.…”

“…These insights could be gained because intranasally administered OXT (OXT IN ) penetrates the brain (11)(12)(13) and alters measures of neural and behavioral response (14). Specifically, OXT IN has been revealed to enhance social cooperation (15), generosity (16), and empathy (17,18); to induce an altruistic response bias away from nonsocial toward social priorities (19); and to reinforce parochial preferences for outgroup hostility and ingroup centricity (20,21). Consistent with the latter are findings from field studies of wild chimpanzees showing that heightened endogenous release of OXT correlates with greater ingroup cohesion during intergroup conflict (22).…”

The Neuroimmune Basis of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

“…Subjects treated with placebo devoted more money to saving the rainforest rather than supporting the indigenous population living in that reserve. Under oxytocin treatment, participants showed the opposite behavioral pattern, suggesting that administration of the peptide can transiently alter altruistic attitudes and reward values, thereby shaping decisions towards social priorities (Marsh et al, 2015). These results are in accord with current concepts that the contextual framing of an experimental scenario interacts with oxytocin and determines its effects in a top-down regulatory manner (Quattrocki and Friston, 2014).…”