Oxytocin All That It Seems?

Oxytocin has received increased media attention over the past two decades, with
some even hailing it as the most incredible molecule on the planet (Dvorsky,
2012). This attention derives from a study carried out by a group of psychologists
investigating the effect of increased oxytocin levels on trust behaviours in
humans. Oxytocin has been dubbed the love hormone, suggesting that it is
responsible for falling in love and sexual drive in females (Woollaston, 2014).
Some articles have even professed that the molecule is able to diffuse squabbles
in relationships and bring happiness to couples that live together (Mackenzie,
2012). It has also been marketed as liquid trust; Vero-Labs in the USA have
sold oxytocin nasal spray under this name, even citing the study carried out by
Kosfeld et al as evidence for their effectiveness (Vero Labs, 2015). It only takes a
simple web search for oxytocin to bring up hundreds of articles that proclaim that
it is the source of all positive human interaction, with its namesake as the moral
molecule.
A study that measured the effects of manipulating levels of oxytocin in humans
on social interaction is Kosfeld et al (2005). The original purpose of the study was
to investigate how increased levels of oxytocin would affect positive social
behaviours in humans. They hypothesized that oxytocin might also promote
prosocial approach behaviours in humans, specifically referring to trust in the
hypothesis.
The participants were asked to take part in a game that had been devised by the
researchers, in which trusting behaviours were recorded, involving the use of
investing money and trusting that the partner in the experiment would transfer
money back to them. The participants were separated into groups based on the
conditions of the independent variable. Each group consisted of 97 participants.
This is an independent measures design; each participant takes part in one
condition of the IV only once.
In the oxytocin group, participants were administered with a single intranasal
dose of oxytocin before playing. In the control group, they were given a placebo.
It was also a double-blind test, neither the participants or researchers were
aware of which participants had the placebo or oxytocin. This is a clear strength
of the methodology used as it controls for researcher bias, the error that occurs
in results when a researcher draws conclusions to fit their hypothesis. This may
happen in studies where the researcher knows which participants are under
which condition. The double-blind in this study ensures that validity can be
established, as researchers are measuring what they intend to, not the effects of
bias. A large sample size of 194 was used, which is a strength as it makes the
study more generalisable to the general population. However, the sample was
comprised totally of male university students. This is a methodological limitation
of the study as its findings can only be generalised to males, of that limited age
range and background. Another factor relating to the generalisability of the study
is the low ecological validity of the experiment itself. In everyday life,
participants would not be asked to perform the task of the experiment; therefore
extrapolating the results of this situation to everyday life may not be

representative of natural human behaviour. This is important as Psychology

attempts to explain natural human behaviour, and these results do not allow this
to happen.
A control experiment was also used, where the effects of oxytocin were
measured under a scenario without any social aspect to see if oxytocin affected
social behaviours or simply risk taking behaviours. This was referred to as the
risk experiment, as the returns made to the participants that invested were
randomised by a computer, therefore trust was not a factor in their investment.
This allowed the researchers to separate the effects of oxytocin on social
behaviours and on risk, which may have been a confounding variable affecting
the results in the trust experiment.
The methodology is also strong with respect to the use of the control experiment,
this improves the validity of the results, as it is more probable that the
researchers are measuring what they intend to the effect of oxytocin on social
behaviours.
It was found that the group that had been administered with oxytocin made
larger transfers to their partners in comparison to the placebo group, suggesting
they were more trusting as they trusted that their partner would make a return
on the money. The control experiment found no significant difference between
the transfers in the oxytocin group and placebo group, showing that the results
were due to the increase in social behaviour of trust and not changes in risk
taking attitudes of participants. Therefore, the paper concludes that oxytocin
promotes trust within humans. However, the researchers expressed that despite
the increase of trust displayed in the research, it was not able to conclude that
oxytocin increases the general inclination to behave prosocially (Kosfeld et al,
2005). The researchers also found that oxytocin affects approach and trust
behaviour, but not the degree of reciprocity to these behaviours. This suggests
that it would have less of an impact in interpersonal relationships. The increase
in oxytocin only increases the inclination to carry out approach behaviours, not
necessarily to reciprocate them from others. Therefore, oxytocin would have a
low impact on interpersonal relationships, as an important aspect of this is
reciprocity from both parties. For example, a relationship would not be strong if
the approach behaviours from one partner were dismissed or not reciprocated by
the other. Thus, it cannot be said that oxytocin improves relationships overall.
The researchers speculated that their findings could have practical applications
in the field of mental healthcare, specifically in patients with disorders that have
social deficits, for example autism and social phobias. They also expressed their
hope that the paper inspired further research into the effects of oxytocin and its
possible uses in the future.
It is clear that the media has portrayed oxytocin and its psychological effects
quite differently to the original study carried out by Kosfeld et al (2005). Firstly,
the study explicitly states that it is specifically trusting behaviour that is affected
by oxytocin, and general prosocial behaviours are not increased by the molecule.
However, many media portrayals of oxytocin suggest it is responsible for falling
in love and sex drive (Woollaston, 2014). The oxytocin nasal sprays sold by Vero

Labs actually refer to the original scientific findings in their claims, however also
suggest that oxytocin is proven to boost confidence and experience more
empathy. This is a clear example of how the media and marketing portray
scientific findings with great omissions and errors. The evidence from the study
by Kosfeld et al is not as unambiguous as the media attempts to account it the
paper clearly states that specifically trusting behaviours were increased, and not
a general increase in prosocial behaviours. The researchers also explicitly stated
that oxytocin does not increase reciprocity among partners in a social setting,
which differs greatly from the media account that the molecule increases the
strength of relationships as a whole. Also, the limitations of the experiment in
terms of generalisability affect the accuracy of the media account. If it is unable
to be generalised to the target population, then it is not legitimate to report that
these findings apply to anybody but those represented in the sample.
The media also refrains from showing that many studies have been carried out
that show the opposite effect can be caused by increased doses of oxytocin, such
as Shamay-Tsoory et al (2009), which found that oxytocin actually increases envy
and gloating behaviours. This highlights how the majority of the media do not
accurately report original scientific findings.
This misrepresentation of scientific research can have implications for scientists
too. Firstly, it means that the scientific breakthroughs that the public read of
daily are not technically accurate. The results have even been used as a
marketing strategy to encourage people to buy products that are based on overstated results, such as the reference to Kosfeld et al (2005) on the Vero Labs
website. Also, as expressed by neuroscientist Molly Crockett, the sensationalised
reports of science thrown around by the media divert attention away from
genuinely important scientific research.

Bibliography
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