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Salivary Oxytocin Has Nonlinear Relationships with Trust and Reciprocity

Author

Listed:
  • Sakura Arai

    (Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, 6-1-1 Tamagawagakuen, Machida, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan)

  • Motoki Watabe

    (Sunway Business School, Sunway University, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 46150, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Kei Kanari

    (Department of Fundamental Engineering, Utsunomiya University, 7-1-2 Yoto, Utsunomiya 321-8585, Japan)

  • Qiulu Shou

    (Graduate School of Brain Sciences, Tamagawa University, 6-1-1 Tamagawagakuen, Machida, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan)

  • Frank Krueger

    (School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA)

  • Haruto Takagishi

    (Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University, 6-1-1 Tamagawagakuen, Machida, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan)

Abstract

Oxytocin has been proposed to regulate human trust. Previous experiments supported this claim by demonstrating that exogenous and endogenous oxytocin is associated with trust (how much trust people place in strangers) and reciprocity (how much people reciprocate when trusted). However, recent replication attempts have been unsuccessful in demonstrating the trust-enhancing effect of oxytocin, and there is limited evidence on whether oxytocin is associated with reciprocity. This study aimed to replicate the previously found nonlinear relationships between the endogenous oxytocin concentration and both trust and reciprocity by utilizing a monetarily incentivized trust game. In a college sample, we found that salivary oxytocin levels showed (i) an inverted U-shaped relationship with trust in men and (ii) a U-shaped relationship with reciprocity in women. The current results confirm the previous finding that endogenous oxytocin levels have nonlinear relationships with trust and reciprocity. Further research on the role of oxytocin secretion in trust and reciprocity is warranted.

Suggested Citation

  • Sakura Arai & Motoki Watabe & Kei Kanari & Qiulu Shou & Frank Krueger & Haruto Takagishi, 2023. "Salivary Oxytocin Has Nonlinear Relationships with Trust and Reciprocity," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jgames:v:14:y:2023:i:1:p:17-:d:1073905
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Kosfeld & Markus Heinrichs & Paul J. Zak & Urs Fischbacher & Ernst Fehr, 2005. "Oxytocin increases trust in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 435(7042), pages 673-676, June.
    2. Carolyn H. Declerck & Christophe Boone & Loren Pauwels & Bodo Vogt & Ernst Fehr, 2020. "A registered replication study on oxytocin and trust," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(6), pages 646-655, June.
    3. Songfa Zhong & Mikhail Monakhov & Helen P Mok & Terry Tong & Poh San Lai & Soo Hong Chew & Richard P Ebstein, 2012. "U-Shaped Relation between Plasma Oxytocin Levels and Behavior in the Trust Game," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(12), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Berg Joyce & Dickhaut John & McCabe Kevin, 1995. "Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 122-142, July.
    5. James C Christensen & Pavel A Shiyanov & Justin R Estepp & John J Schlager, 2014. "Lack of Association between Human Plasma Oxytocin and Interpersonal Trust in a Prisoner’s Dilemma Paradigm," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-22, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Frank Krueger, 2023. "A Yin and Yang Perspective on the Trust Game: Trust and Reciprocity," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-4, March.

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