Thin-slicing study of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene and the evaluation and expression of the prosocial disposition
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Individuals who are homozygous for the G allele of the rs53576 SNP of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene tend to be more prosocial than carriers of the A allele. However, little is known about how these differences manifest behaviorally and whether they are readily detectable by outside observers, both critical questions in theoretical accounts of prosociality. In the present study, we used thin-slicing methodology to test the hypotheses that (i) individual differences in rs53576 genotype predict how prosocial observers judge target individuals to be on the basis of brief observations of behavior, and (ii) that variation in targets' nonverbal displays of affiliative cues would account for these judgment differences. In line with predictions, we found that individuals homozygous for the G allele were judged to be more prosocial than carriers of the A allele. These differences were completely accounted for by variations in the expression of affiliative cues. Thus, individual differences in rs53576 are associated with behavioral manifestations of prosociality, which ultimately guide the judgments others make about the individual.
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Carriers of one or two A alleles of rs53576 were judged less prosocial than carriers of two G alleles, due to variations in expression of affiliative cues.
“carriers of one or two A alleles of the same SNP were judged to be less prosocial than carriers of two G alleles, and that this was due to variations in expression of affiliative cues by these individuals (Kogan et al., 2011).”
From Vasopressin and oxytocin receptor systems in the brain: Sex differences and sex-specific regulation of social behavior (2016) · cites this paper as Kogan et al., 2011
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- Authors
- Kogan, A., Saslow, L. R., Impett, E. A., Oveis, C., Keltner, D., & Rodrigues Saturn, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Department of Psychology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2011-11-14
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 48
- Pages
- 19189-19192
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC3228468
- OpenAlex
- W2107134221
- Cited by
- 279
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 26.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2012-01-05)
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fetzer Institute
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- oxytocin receptor gene, oxytocin receptor, rs53576, prosocial behavior, thin slicing, observer evaluation, nonverbal behavior, individual differences, genetic polymorphism, social perception
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alleles, Cooperative Behavior, Cues, Empathy, Female, Genotype, Humans, Male, Ontario, Social Perception, Receptors, Oxytocin, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
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