Week 10 Lec 20
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What is the difference between Prairie and Montane voles?
Prairie voles = monogamous and high density of oxytocin receptors in striatum Montane voles = promiscuous and lack high density of oxytocin receptors
How is oxytocin linked to pair bonding in animals?
Oxytocin is released after mating, reinforcing and leading to long term attachment; enhances pair bonding
Name 5 social processes modulated by oxytocin
Social memory, emotion recognition, affect sharing, social emotions, social perception, social attention, communication and empathic accuracy
Where is oxytocin synthesized?
Hypothalamus (one of the few hormones directly synthesized and released in the brain)
Where is oxytocin released?
Hippocampus, amygdala, striatum, hypothalamus, midbrain and into the general circulation
What were the main results of the study by Kosfeld (2005)?
Oxytocin increased trusting behaviour by 17% in TG No effect on non social risk preferences (effect of oxytocin on trust is specific to social context) No effect on trustees
Which brain area and psychological function might mediate impact of oxytocin on trust?
Oxytocin affected trusting behaviour in situations where oxytocin dampened amygdala activity (reduces betrayal aversion) Oxytocin decreased fear by dampening amygdala activity
Why might we be able to identify the role of oxytocin on social behaviors in animals but have trouble finding these effects in experiments with humans?
Kosfeld’s study in which intranasal OT was linked to trust failed to replicate Animal studies based on experimental manipulations which cannot be conducted in humans/could have different effects
What were the results of the study by Marsh (2015) examining the link between endogenous OT and altruism?
Marsh investigated whether OT induced social altruism bias using a donation task Results: Participants with high level of saliva (endogenous) OT tended to give higher donations only in the social frame
What were the results of the study examining the link between exogenous OT and altruism?
Exogenous OT increased donation in social frame and decreased donation in ecological frame
Takeaway
Altruism varied as a function of OT activity Increased OT = induced social altruism bias Extends to sustainable consumption by making participants willing to pay double the price for socially sustainable goods
Can you name two modulating factors of the link between oxytocin and altruism?
Group membership: More generous towards in-group Differences in trait empathy
What are the results of the study by Strang and colleagues?
Strang investigated how does OT and empathy impact social discounting (trait empathy as a modulating factor) Results: Positive correlation between individual empathy and generous behaviour towards close others for those who received OT
What are the takeaways of the study by Strang and colleagues?
Characteristics of decision maker can moderate effect of oxytocin on social behaviour Oxytocin did not have a general approach enhancing effect, but a social distance dependent effect (increasing generous behaviour only towards socially close people)