The neurobiology of trust
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In healthy subjects, intranasal oxytocin alters pro-social feelings, social communication, emotional recognition, self-perception, and social interactions with offspring.
“Generally, in healthy subjects pro-social feelings, including generosity and trust (6–8), social communication and emotional recognition (9,10), self-perception (11), and social interactions with offspring are altered by OT(12).”
From Chronic intranasal oxytocin causes long-term impairments in partner preference formation in male prairie voles (2013) · cites this paper as [7]
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A construct divided: prosocial behavior as helping, sharing, and comforting subtypes
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The origins of altruism in offspring care.
Preston, S. D. (2013) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0031755 · Cited by 368 · see citing works
Bales, K. L., Perkeybile, A. M., Conley, O. G., Lee, M. H., Guoynes, C. D., Downing, G. M., Yun, C. R., Solomon, M., Jacob, S., & Mendoza, S. P. (2013) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.08.025 · Cited by 265 · see citing works
Testosterone Administration Decreases Generosity in the Ultimatum Game
Zak, P. J., Kurzban, R., Ahmadi, S., Swerdloff, R. S., Park, J., Efremidze, L., Redwine, K. M., Morgan, K., & MATZNER, W. T. (2009) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008330 · Cited by 245 · see citing works
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Ambrose, S. H. (2010) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/650296 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
“…and neurology (Dawes et al. 2007; Fehr and Henrich 2003; Hammerstein 2003; Kosfeld et al. 2005; Krueger, Grafman, and McCabe 2008; Krueger et al. 2007; McCabe et al. 2001; Nowak and Sigmund 2005; Richerson, Boyd, and Henrich 2003; Riolo, Cohen, and Axelrod 2001; Smith 2003; Zak 2008).”
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A Proposed Framework for Behavioral Accounting Research
Birnberg, J. G. (2011) · Behavioral Research in Accounting · doi:10.2308/bria.2011.23.1.1 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
The impact of betrayal trauma on the tendency to trust.
Gobin, R. L., & Freyd, J. J. (2014) · Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy · doi:10.1037/a0032452 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Why trust an algorithm? Performance, cognition, and neurophysiology
Alexander, V., Blinder, C., & Zak, P. J. (2018) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.07.026 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
“Our point of departure is the research we have done on neurocorrelates of trust between unacquainted human beings (Zak, 1994, 2004; Kosfeld, Heinrichs, Zak, Fischbacher, & Fehr, 2005; Zak, 2008; Zak, 2017); we hypothesized that related neurophysiologic mechanisms may mediate trust in algorithms.”
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Intranasal Oxytocin as an Adjunct to Risperidone in Patients with Schizophrenia
Modabbernia, A., Rezaei, F., Salehi, B., Jafarinia, M., Ashrafi, M., Tabrizi, M. H., Hosseini, S. M. R., Tajdini, M., Ghaleiha, A., & Akhondzadeh, S. (2012) · CNS Drugs · doi:10.1007/s40263-012-0022-1 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Oxytocin infusion increases charitable donations regardless of monetary resources
Barraza, J. A., McCullough, M. E., Ahmadi, S., & Zak, P. J. (2011) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.04.008 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Self-citationNot so Fast. On Some Bold Neuroscientific Claims Concerning Human Agency
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Kraak, S. (2010) · Fish and Fisheries · doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2010.00372.x · Cited by 71 · see citing works
“…to play a role (Zak et al. 2004, Kosfeld et al. 2005, Morhenn et al. 2008), and neural correlates in the brain have been uncovered (Rilling et al. 2002, Fehr and Rockenbach 2004, Zak 2004, Rilling et al. 2005, Rilling et al. 2008, Zak 2008), giving birth to the discipline neuroeconomics (Zak 2004).”
BackgroundHypocognition: Making Sense of the Landscape beyond One's Conceptual Reach
Wu, K., & Dunning, D. A. (2017) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/gpr0000126 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Incomplete-Information Models of Guilt Aversion in the Trust Game
Attanasi, G., Battigalli, P., & Manzoni, E. (2015) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2015.2154 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“3On the one hand, higher levels of oxytocin in trustees are correlated (between subjects) with higher investment by trusters and higher sharing (Zak et al. 2005, see also Zak 2008).”
The S cience of Interpersonal Trust
Borum, R. (2010) · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Daily mistrust: A resource perspective and its implications for work and home
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Neuroeconomics and International Studies: A New Understanding of Trust
Zak, P. J., & Kugler, J. (2011) · International Studies Perspectives · doi:10.1111/j.1528-3585.2011.00424.x · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“Neuroeconomics is a recent transdisciplinary field that applies the measurement techniques of neuroscience to decisions that involve money and other people (Zak 2008a,b,c).”
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Trust Networks: A New Perspective on Pedigree and the Ambiguities of Admissions
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Determinants and modulators of human social decisions
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Sex Differences Through a Neuroscience Lens: Implications for Business Ethics
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Inductive modeling using causal studies in neuroeconomics: brains on drugs
Vercoe, M., & Zak, P. J. (2010) · Journal of Economic Methodology · doi:10.1080/13501781003756675 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationStoker, L., & Bass, J. (2011) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199545636.003.0028 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Oxytocin and the Biological Basis for Interpersonal and Political Trust
Merolla, J. L., Burnett, G., Pyle, K. V., Ahmadi, S., & Zak, P. J. (2013) · Political Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11109-012-9219-8 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
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Oxytocin instantiates empathy and produces prosocial behaviors
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Self-citationTrust as an expressive rather than an instrumental act
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An “Ethical” Game-Theoretic Solution Concept for Two-Player Perfect-Information Games
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Towards a decision model based on trust and security risk management
Alcalde, B., Dubois, É., Mauw, S., Mayer, N., & Radomirović, S. (2009) · Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Luxembourg) · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Katzir, M., Cohen, S., & Halali, E. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104192 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Snowdon, A., Attal, C., Nikkheslat, N., Pariante, C. M., Young, A. H., & Zahn, R. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105994 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Oxytocin has been previously linked to sharing feelings more easily with others as well as more trusting behaviour in humans (Mikolajczak et al., 2010a, 2010b; Tops et al., 2007; Zak, 2008).”
The Missing Link: The Biological Roots of the Business Sciences
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SELFLESS GENES, ALTRUISM AND TRAUMA: RESEARCH AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
Music, G. (2012) · British Journal of Psychotherapy · doi:10.1111/j.1752-0118.2012.01276.x · Cited by 6 · see citing works
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Autism and Aging: Hardly Out of the Woods
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Conflict: Philosophy and Culture
Grisham, T. (2013) · Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction · doi:10.1061/(asce)la.1943-4170.0000101 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Does collective meditation foster trust and trustworthiness in an investment game?
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The impact of organizational trust on the performance of police departments
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Self-citationCharting the neuroscience of interpersonal trust: A bibliographic literature review
Wu, Y. H., & Krüeger, F. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105930 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Altruistic responses to the most vulnerable involve sensorimotor processes
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Developing and Maintaining Trust in Post-disaster Hastily Formed Networks
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TRAUMA, TRUST, AND BETRAYAL AWARENESS
Gobin, R. L. (2012) · Scholars' Bank (University of Oregon) · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Deciding on exit strategies: using foresight in problem resolution
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Moral Enhancement and Political Realism
de Araújo, M. (2014) · Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies · doi:10.55613/jeet.v24i2.20 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
A pattern for trust trap mitigation
Mundie, D. A., & Moore, A. P. (2011) · Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs · doi:10.1145/2578903.2579158 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Trust and Trustworthiness in Human Behavior and IT Services - Concepts, Definitions and Relations
Bøegh, J. (2014) · Communications in computer and information science · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-43908-1_31 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Cooperation: An enduring theory of relationship marketing
Henderson, C. M., Steinhoff, L., & Palmatier, R. W. (2026) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-026-01158-0 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Roy, R. K., & Denzau, A. T. (2024) · Public Choice · doi:10.1007/s11127-024-01225-6 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…insights that have been revealed in Vernon L. Smith and Bart Wilsons’s (2019) work in the dynamic area of humanomics , Paul J. Zak’s Neuroeconomics (Zak, 2008) and W. Edwards Deming’s systems thinking outlined in his New Economics (Deming, 1994) to examine human propensities for trust and…”
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From mythos and irrationality towards logos and rationality
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.004 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.011 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Cultural evolution, design and philosophy: for the change of era
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“• Bottom Up: When individual’s subordination to an authority and regulations focused to determine his behaviour are low and change speed and trust [20] are high.”
BackgroundSocial Norms and Interpersonal TrustPreprint
Singh, T. B. (2009) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1427089 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Demystifying trust: Experimental evidence from Cambodia and Thailand
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Dialogicality as epistemology of daily life and of professional practices
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.008 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Analyst's Idealization of the Patient: On Not Seeing the Dark Side
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Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.010 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Lemitre, S. (2022) · Perspectives Psy · doi:10.1051/ppsy/2022613247 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Lactancia para psiquiatras: Recomendaciones sobre el empleo de psicofármacos en madres lactantes
Fernández, I. O., Drozdowskyj, E. S., & Labián, C. M. (2011) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Toxicology of the Endocrine System
Kapp, R. W., & Thomas, J. A. (2009) · General, Applied and Systems Toxicology · doi:10.1002/9780470744307.gat072 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Transparency, trust, and a tale of hedge fund ethics
Cameron, B. L. (2010) · California State University ScholarWorks (system-wide DSpace) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Interpersonal Trust as Individual Choice With Social InteractionsPreprint
Singh, T. B. (2008) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.1260758 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Choleris, E., Pfaff, D. W., & Kavaliers, M. (2013) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139017855.021 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
An analysis of trust in deception operations
Fix, C. L. (2009) · Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
Oxytocin and Romantic Relationships: A Functional Perspective
Grebe, N. M. (2015) · UNM’s Digital Repository (University of New Mexico)
El primer año de vida. Destruyendo mitos
Leunda-Iruretagoyena, M. (2014) · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja)
Cultural evolution, design and philosophy
Viniegra, C. (2012) · International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning · doi:10.2495/sdp-v7-n1-48-68
“• ‘Bottom Up’: When individual’s subordination to an authority and regulations focused to determine his behaviour are low and change speed and trust [12] are high.”
BackgroundChronic Intranasal Oxytocin Causes Long-Term Impairments in Partner Preference Formation in
Bales, K. L., Perkeybile, A. M., Conley, O. G., Lee, M. H., Guoynes, C. D., Downing, G., Yun, C. R., Solomon, M., Jacob, S., & Mendoza, S. P. (2012)
Moberg, K. U. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-47359-7_8
Oxytocin in Beziehungen zwischen Erwachsenen
Moberg, K. U. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-47359-7_7
Creating and Maintaining Trust: How and Why Some Leaders Get It Right
Kramer, R. M., & Elsbach, K. D. (2014) · Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks · doi:10.1057/9781137472038_8
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.007
Towards Giambattista Vico’s common sense
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.005
The dialogical mind in professional practices
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.012
Common sense in humanities and social sciences
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.006
‘Superior’ and ‘inferior’ thinking and knowing
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.003
The Most Original of Original Sins
Hoffman, M. B. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139811873.002
Ethics of the Ego–Alter–Object relations
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.009
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.013
Dresp, B. (2020) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2002.06086
Does meditation lead to more selfish or pro-social behaviors in a trust game?Preprint
Giovanni, D. B., & Papa, S. (2015) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.001
Marková, I. (2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.002
(2016) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753602.014
Moberg, K. U. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-47359-7_11
Gyarmathy, É. (2025) · Pedagógusképzés · doi:10.37205/tel-hun.2024.3.10
Better Communication With the Public
Schor, N. F. (2025) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000213862
Maximizing Collaborative Creativity
Bennett, L. M. (2025) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/979-8-3373-0375-8.ch006
Xie, X. (2025) · Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s40737-025-00491-x
“Studies show that the intake of oxytocin helps boost trust in social behaviors and decrease the release of stress hormones (Legros, 2001; Zak, 2008).”
- Authors
- Zak, P. J.
- Affiliations
- Claremont Graduate University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Zak, Paul J.
- ORCID
- Zak, Paul J.
- Venue
- Scientific American
- Published
- 2008-06
- Volume
- 298
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 88-95
- ISSN
- 0036-8733 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2085310106
- Cited by
- 99
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 11.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Scientific American (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- trust, social neuroscience, social cognition
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Autistic Disorder, Brain, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Oxytocin, Receptors, Oxytocin, Trust, Gift Giving
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