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Experimental empathy induction promotes oxytocin increases and testosterone decreases
Tanya L Procyshyn1, Neil V Watson2, Bernard J Crespi3
1Department of Biological Sciences, 8888 University Drive, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby V5A 1S6, Canada; Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK.
Hormones and Behavior
|October 27, 2019
Summary
This study found that watching an emotional video increased oxytocin and decreased testosterone in adults. Individual hormone responses varied, linking empathy to oxytocin and systemizing to testosterone changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroendocrinology
- Social Neuroscience
- Psychoneuroimmunology
Background:
- Oxytocin and testosterone influence social behaviors.
- Previous research linked oxytocin to empathy and testosterone to reduced empathy.
- The joint effect of these hormones on naturalistic empathy induction was unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the joint changes in salivary oxytocin and testosterone levels in response to an empathy-inducing stimulus.
- To explore the relationship between individual psychological traits and hormone reactivity.
- To determine if hormone responses to empathy induction are predictable.
Main Methods:
- Salivary oxytocin and testosterone levels were measured in 173 healthy adults before and after watching an empathy-inducing video.
- Participants completed questionnaires assessing empathy, systemizing, and autistic traits.
- Statistical analyses included paired t-tests, chi-square tests, and circular statistics.
Main Results:
- A significant increase in oxytocin (14%) and a decrease in testosterone (4%) were observed post-video.
- Opposite directional changes in oxytocin and testosterone occurred concurrently.
- Individual psychological traits did not strongly predict hormone changes, but response patterns linked to empathy (oxytocin increase) and systemizing (testosterone decrease).
Conclusions:
- Empathy induction leads to coordinated, opposing changes in oxytocin and testosterone.
- Individual responses to empathy stimuli can be categorized into 'high oxytocin responders' (empathetic) and 'high testosterone responders' (systemizing-biased).
- These findings support a model of diverse yet predictable hormonal responses to social-emotional stimuli.
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