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Oxytocin increases trust in men low in dispositional trust
Bodo Vogt1, Paul Bengart2, Carolyn Declerck3
1Chair in Empirical Economics and Health Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg 39106, Germany.
Summary
Oxytocin (OT) administration significantly increased trust in men with low trust tendencies. This robust, preregistered study provides strong evidence for OT's selective role in enhancing social trust.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Recent research has cast doubt on oxytocin's (OT) role in social behavior due to low-powered studies and replication issues.
- Concerns include low statistical power, hypothesizing after results are known (HARKing), and inconsistent findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide robust evidence for a causal effect of oxytocin on trust.
- To address skepticism by conducting a high-powered, preregistered study.
- To investigate OT's influence specifically in males with a low disposition to trust.
Main Methods:
- A high-powered, preregistered study involving 359 men with low trust tendencies.
- Participants engaged in a trust game under conditions of complete anonymity.
- Oxytocin administration was compared to a placebo (implied).
- A pooled data analysis included a previous sample (n=219) of low-trusting individuals.
Main Results:
- Oxytocin administration significantly increased trusting behavior by approximately 15% in low-trusting men.
- Pooled analysis of 578 individuals showed a statistically significant 16.9% increase in trust.
- No interaction was found between oxytocin and the degree of dispositional trust, indicating a uniform effect across the low-trusting spectrum.
Conclusions:
- Oxytocin administration has a selective, trust-enhancing effect in males with a low disposition to trust.
- This study resolves a key question regarding the neurobiological determinants of trust.
- Findings support oxytocin's specific role in modulating trust within a defined subpopulation and experimental context.
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