Oxytocin And Trust: Can Human Behaviour Be Altered
Almost every social interaction relies upon one thing: Trust. The hormone oxytocin has been the subject of many recent studies involving human interaction and trust. This article will look at an experiment carried out in Zurich on the effect of oxytocin and a real monetary exchange.
The major outcome from this study which is quite startling is that the investors who received the oxytocin showed more trust in the anonymous person trying to sell them the investment that the investors who received a placebo. Oxytocin when administered in a nasal spray is able to pass into the blood and from there reaches the brain. This study showed a direct corollary between oxytocin and trust, to understand this more scientists began looking more in depth at oxytocin but also at the phenomenon of trust that is pivotal in human dealings.
By removing trust you remove many pillars that are necessary for human evolution and survival. Trust plays a huge role in friendship, leadership, love and business relations. Little is known about the exact science of trust and how it works in the human brain but these recent studies have ushered in a new curiosity of trust. It has also brought oxytocin about as a very important tool for helping us study and gain information about it.
With regard to oxytocin it is commonly referred to as a hormone. More specifically it is a small peptide that consists of amino acids. It is produced naturally by the human body and has been measured to be given off in wildly varying amounts at different times and in different circumstances. In animals it is speculated that oxytocin plays an even bigger role than it does n humans. In animals it plays a large role between male and females and also between females and their offspring. It has been shown that directly after childbirth the levels of oxytocin are at one of the highest levels observed. This is part of the reason why scientists believe that oxytocin triggers certain reactions in others who detect it.
A very important part of this study is that it enables us to conjecture as to what the effect of oxytocin use in a non scientific setting. It has also been put forward by scientists that even a trace amount above normal of oxytocin can trigger a release in others that almost snowballs. Even though our knowledge on oxytocin and trust is still in its infancy there are people trying to take advantage of it now. In a way these people are also on the cutting edge of science. Taking research into their own hands and using something new and experimental to help them in their own life.
All we know for sure is that oxytocin is not going anywhere soon and we can expect it to be playing a much bigger role in all facets of our life in the near future. If you’d like more information on oxytocin are you are looking to purchase some for your own trials with it click here.
