The DOI matches its Crossref record; 171 of the 178 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Does Oxytocin Increase Trust in Humans? A Critical Review of Research
Abstract
Behavioral neuroscientists have shown that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) plays a key role in social attachment and affiliation in nonhuman mammals. Inspired by this initial research, many social scientists proceeded to examine the associations of OT with trust in humans over the past decade. To conduct this work, they have (a) examined the effects of exogenous OT increase caused by intranasal administration on trusting behavior, (b) correlated individual difference measures of OT plasma levels with measures of trust, and (c) searched for genetic polymorphisms of the OT receptor gene that might be associated with trust. We discuss the different methods used by OT behavioral researchers and review evidence that links OT to trust in humans. Unfortunately, the simplest promising finding associating intranasal OT with higher trust has not replicated well. Moreover, the plasma OT evidence is flawed by how OT is measured in peripheral bodily fluids. Finally, in recent large-sample studies, researchers failed to find consistent associations of specific OT-related genetic polymorphisms and trust. We conclude that the cumulative evidence does not provide robust convergent evidence that human trust is reliably associated with OT (or caused by it). We end with constructive ideas for improving the robustness and rigor of OT research.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Nave and colleagues [22] computed the effect sizes of seven studies that have investigated the effect of intranasal OT on trust trough the trust game. Their analysis revealed that the combined effect size of intranasal OT on trust was small and not reliably different from zero (Cohen’s d = 0.077, 95%CI: [-0.124;0.278]).”
From Failed Replication of Oxytocin Effects on Trust: The Envelope Task Case (2015) · cites this paper as [22]
In the citing paper
“The lack of a convincing theoretical framework that allows to predict which moderators exert their effects and when, has raised healthy skepticism regarding the robustness of human behavioral IN-OT research (20,21).”
From Is there a Publication Bias in Behavioural Intranasal Oxytocin Research on Humans? Opening the File Drawer of One Laboratory (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“the seminal, highly cited study associating IN-OT with trust (1), that inspired much of the subsequent research, failed several times to replicate (20).”
From Is there a Publication Bias in Behavioural Intranasal Oxytocin Research on Humans? Opening the File Drawer of One Laboratory (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“the use of too small samples (21) and the vast amount of candidate factors that could potentially moderate IN-OT's behavioral effects (19, 20) might inflate the false discovery rate unless direct replication efforts and correction for multiple hypotheses are applied.”
From Is there a Publication Bias in Behavioural Intranasal Oxytocin Research on Humans? Opening the File Drawer of One Laboratory (2016) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“A concern in previous studies is that post hoc explorations of different modulations by individual differences risk inflating the rate of Type I errors 50 .”
From Oxytocin modulates social value representations in the amygdala (2019) · cites this paper as [50]
In the citing paper
“More specifically, Nave and colleagues 21 have raised doubt on the robustness of the oxytocin-trust association, pointing out that six studies failed to replicate the initial findings reported by Kosfeld et al. 8 .”
From A registered replication study on oxytocin and trust (2020) · cites this paper as [21]
In the citing paper
“The overarching link among studies of OXT and human cooperation is the role of OXT in enhancing group-level cooperation, though there is considerable debate about the robustness of these OXT studies (Leng & Ludwig, 2015; Nave, Camerer, & McCullough, 2015; Van IJzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2012; Walum, Waldman, & Young, 2015).”
From Inequity aversion strategies between marmosets are influenced by partner familiarity and sex but not by oxytocin (2016) · cites this paper as Nave, Camerer, & McCullough, 2015
In the citing paper
“However, several recent reviews identified relatively poor replicability within the OT literature (Nave et al., 2015; Leng and Ludwig, 2016; Walum et al., 2016), which partly arises from small sample sizes.”
From Oxytocin promotes altruistic punishment (2017) · cites this paper as Nave et al., 2015
In the citing paper
“For instance, a recent systematic review of the oxytocin literature found no evidence that trust behavior is associated with oxytocin (Nave et al., 2015).”
From Oxytocin promotes altruistic punishment (2017) · cites this paper as Nave et al., 2015
Citations
Cites
Riggins, F. J., & Mitra, S. (1990) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.27-6637 · Cited by 16,590
An integrative model of organizational trust
Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995) · The Academy of Management Review · doi:10.2307/258792 · Cited by 10,736
Not So Different After All: A Cross-Discipline View Of Trust
Rousseau, D. M., Sitkin, S. B., Burt, R. S., & Camerer, C. (1998) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.5465/amr.1998.926617 · Cited by 10,274
Self-citationThe file drawer problem and tolerance for null results.
Rosenthal, R. (1979) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.3.638 · Cited by 9,068 · cited 1×
“It is also impossible to know whether there exist unpublished data that produced null findings and got stuck in the proverbial “file drawer” (because of publication bias; e.g., Lane, Luminet, Nave, & Mikolajczak, 2015; Rosenthal, 1979).”
BackgroundGamst, F. C. (1991) · Anthropology of Work Review · doi:10.1525/awr.1991.12.3.19 · Cited by 8,036
Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation
Knack, S., & Keefer, P. (1997) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/003355300555475 · Cited by 7,484
Simmons, J. P., Nelson, L. D., & Simonsohn, U. (2011) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797611417632 · Cited by 6,567
Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History
Berg, J., Dickhaut, J., & McCabe, K. (1995) · Games and Economic Behavior · doi:10.1006/game.1995.1027 · Cited by 5,548
Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction
Camerer, C. F. (2003) · Cited by 3,722
Self-citationOxytocin increases trust in humans
Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature03701 · Cited by 3,690
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Barber B., 1983, The logic and limits of trust, 96
- Barraza J. A. (2010). The physiology of empathy: Linking Oxytocin to empathic responding (PhD dissertation, Claremont Graduate University). Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/34/14/3414051.html
- Lane A., 2015, Is there a publication bias in oxytocin research? Opening the file drawer of one lab
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–200 of 308
Zhao, W., Luo, R., Sindermann, C., Li, J., Wei, Z., Zhang, Y., Liu, C., Le, J., Quintana, D. S., Montag, C., et al. (2019) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.109734 · Cited by 20
Oxytocin effects on the resting-state mentalizing brain network
Wu, H., Feng, C., Lu, X., Liu, X., & Liu, Q. (2020) · Brain Imaging and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11682-019-00205-5 · Cited by 21
Oxytocin and vasopressin modulation of prisoner’s dilemma strategies
Neto, M. L., Antunes, M. C. D. S., Lopes, M. C., Ferreira, D. M. S., Rilling, J. K., & Prata, D. P. (2020) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881120913145 · Cited by 23
“…Zak et al., 2007), cooperation (Declerck et al., 2010, 2013; Ditzen et al., 2009) and trust (Bakermans-Kranenburg and Van IJzendoorn, 2013; Kosfeld et al., 2005), although not consistently replicated (Nave et al., 2015), while vasopressin has increased mutual cooperation (Brunnlieb et al., 2016).”
Rung, J. M., Horta, M., Tammi, E. M., Perez, E., Ojeda, M., Lin, T., Harris, G., Somerville, J. E. T., Salmeron, D., Beltz, S. E., et al. (2021) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-021-05862-3 · Cited by 19
Endogenous Oxytocin Release Eliminates In-Group Bias in Monetary Transfers With Perspective-Taking
Terris, E. T., Beavin, L. E., Barraza, J. A., Schloss, J., & Zak, P. J. (2018) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00035 · Cited by 19
“Moreover, emerging research reveals a concern with the reliability and replicability OT infusion studies (Nave et al., 2015; Lane et al., 2016) and disagreements regarding how intranasal OT research should be interpreted (Churchland and Winkielman, 2012; Leng and Ludwig, 2016; Walum et al., 2016).”
BackgroundOxytocin strengthens the link between provocation and aggression among low anxiety people
Pfundmair, M., Reinelt, A., DeWall, C. N., & Feldmann, L. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.04.025 · Cited by 22
“, 2016) and replication failures (Nave et al., 2015), we conducted two studies to investigate the effect’s replicability and were able to find consistent effects.”
Oxytocin conditions trait-based rule adherence
Gross, J., & Dreu, C. K. W. D. (2016) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsw138 · Cited by 19
“…variable and correcting results for multiple comparisons, we hope to at least partly address current concerns in the literature about a potentially high rate of false positive findings of intranasal oxytocin on human social behaviour (McCullough et al., 2013; Nave et al., 2015; Walum et al., 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialHorowitz, M., Yaworsky, W., & Kickham, K. (2019) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/705409 · Cited by 20
Wu, Y. H., Veerareddy, A., Lee, M. R., Bellucci, G., Camilleri, J. A., Eickhoff, S. B., & Krüeger, F. (2021) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.053 · Cited by 17
Luo, R., Xu, L., Zhao, W., Ma, X., Xu, X., Kou, J., Gao, Z., Becker, B., & Kendrick, K. M. (2017) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.05.020 · Cited by 17
Grainger, S. A., Henry, J. D., Steinvik, H. R., & Vanman, E. J. (2018) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881118806303 · Cited by 17
Levin, S. B. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190051495.001.0001 · Cited by 18
Meier, M., Lonsdorf, T. B., LUPIEN, S. J., Stalder, T., Laufer, S., Sicorello, M., Linz, R., & Puhlmann, L. M. C. (2022) · Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100144 · Cited by 18
“[25–27], these results were likely pushed by publication bias [28] and do not replicate well [29,30].”
BackgroundParadoxical Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Trust in Inpatient and Community Adolescents
Venta, A., Ha, C., Vanwoerden, S., Newlin, E., Strathearn, L., & Sharp, C. (2019) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2017.1399401 · Cited by 15
“Indeed, many studies since Kosfeld et al. (2005), including this one, do not document a uniform main effect for intranasal oxytocin across experimental tasks (Lane et al., 2016), and moderated effects are more consistent (Lane et al., 2015; Nave et al., 2015).”
BackgroundThe (Null) Effect of Affective Touch on Betrayal Aversion, Altruism, and Risk Taking
Koppel, L., Andersson, D., Morrison, I., Västfjäll, D., & Tinghög, G. (2017) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00251 · Cited by 17
“A recent review and meta-analysis found no consistent effect of intranasal oxytocin on trust (Nave et al., 2015).”
BackgroundResultZheng, X., Xu, X., Xu, L., Kou, J., Luo, L., Ma, X., & Kendrick, K. M. (2021) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881121991576 · Cited by 17
“Also, while initial studies reported significant effects of OXT on interpersonal trust using economic games a subsequent meta-analysis (Nave et al., 2015) and replication study (DeClerck et al., 2020) and research using other interpersonal trust contexts have failed to confirm this (see Xu et al.,…”
BackgroundOxytocin, trust, and trustworthiness: the moderating role of music
Riedl, R., Javor, A., Gefen, D., Felten, A., & Reuter, M. (2017) · Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics · doi:10.1037/npe0000070 · Cited by 15
“In a recent critical review of empirical research, Nave, Camerer, and McCullough (2015) concluded that “the cumulative evidence does not provide robust convergent evidence that human trust is reliably associated with OT [oxytocin] (or caused by it)” (p. 772).”
BackgroundOxytocin effects on self-referential processing: behavioral and neuroimaging evidence
Liu, Y., Wu, B., Wang, X., Li, W., Zhang, T., Wu, X., & Han, S. (2017) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsx116 · Cited by 15
“…identification of facial expressions (Domes et al., 2007), increased trust to others (Kosfeld et al., 2005; Van IJzendoorn et al., 2012; but see Nave et al., 2015), facilitated positive social communication (Ditzen et al., 2009), increased generosity in the ultimatum game but not in the…”
BackgroundThe rewarding nature of social contact
Preston, S. D. (2017) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aao7192 · Cited by 18
The Causal Role of Temporoparietal Junction in Mediating Self–Other Mergence during Mentalizing
Sun, F., Yang, T., Liu, N., & Wan, X. (2023) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1026-23.2023 · Cited by 16
Social Cognition and Oxytocin in Huntington’s Disease: New Insights
Unti, E., Mazzucchi, S., Frosini, D., Pagni, C., Tognoni, G., Palego, L., Betti, L., Miraglia, F., Giannaccini, G., & Ceravolo, R. (2018) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci8090161 · Cited by 15
“More recently, an increasing amount of evidence supported the involvement of OT in promoting prosocial behavior [19], interpersonal bonding [20], and trust in adult relationships [21].”
BackgroundIntranasal Oxytocin Failed to Affect Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Social Behavior
Proctor, D. P., Calcutt, S. E., Burke, K., & de Waal, F. Β. Μ. (2016) · Animal Behavior and Cognition · doi:10.12966/abc.04.08.2016 · Cited by 14
Henderson, A., Thoelen, G., Nadler, A., Barraza, J. A., & Nave, G. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-29928-z · Cited by 14
Self-citationTeed, A. R., Han, K., Rakic, J., Mark, D. B., & Krawczyk, D. C. (2019) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.04.014 · Cited by 13
Putnam, P. T., & Chang, S. W. C. (2022) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0047 · Cited by 13
Whillans, A. V., Aknin, L. B., Ross, C. J., Chen, L., & Chen, F. S. (2019) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000589 · Cited by 13
ADP ribosyl-cyclases (CD38/CD157), social skills and friendship
Chong, A., Malavasi, F., Israel, S., Khor, C. C., Yap, V. B., Monakhov, M. V., Chew, S. H., Lai, P. S., & Ebstein, R. P. (2017) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.01.011 · Cited by 13
Oláh, K., Topál, J., Kovács, K., Kis, A., Koller, D., Park, S. Y., & Virányi, Z. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02156 · Cited by 13
“…locate hidden objects may be exerted through at least two mechanisms: either through the reduction of fear (Kirsch et al., 2005; Ring et al., 2006) or through the enhancement of trust (Kirsch, 2015, although see Nave et al., 2015 for the controversy regarding the role of oxytocin in human trust).”
BackgroundInteractive Effects Between Extraversion and Oxytocin Administration
Human, L. J., Thorson, K. R., & Mendes, W. B. (2016) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550616644964 · Cited by 12
Vavra, P., van Baar, J., & Sanfey, A. G. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-58993-0_2 · Cited by 12
The effect of oxytocin on group formation and strategic thinking in men
Aydogan, G., Jobst, A., Loy, F., Dehning, S., Zill, P., Müller, N., & Kocher, M. G. (2018) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.02.003 · Cited by 13
“…meta-analyses criticized the relatively poor replicability within the OT literature, partly caused by too small sample sizes (Leng and Ludwig, 2016; Nave et al., 2015; Walum et al., 2016).9 Accordingly, we used a double-blind, placebo-controlled study design to compare behavior in a group of…”
MethodResultHistory and International Relations
Thagard, P. R. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190678722.003.0009 · Cited by 11
Oxytocin increases perceived competence and social-emotional engagement with brands
Barraza, J. A., Hu, X., Terris, E. T., Wang, C., & Zak, P. J. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0260589 · Cited by 13
“The effect of OT administration on trust failed a meta-analysis due in part to low statistical power [34], heterogeneous effects on participants [35], and lack of robustness across trust tasks [36].”
BackgroundEffects of oxytocin administration on receiving help.
Human, L. J., Woolley, J. D., & Mendes, W. B. (2017) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000369 · Cited by 12
“…negative responses to help, perhaps because exogenous OT administration may increase trust (Kosfeld et al., 2005; Mikolajczak et al., 2010; cf. Nave et al., 2015), and more positive perceptions of others (Chen et al., 2015; Colonnello et al., 2013), which may have made participants less…”
BackgroundRelationships, Socialization and Combat Veterans: The Impact of Receiving and Training a Service Dog
Scotland-Coogan, D. (2019) · The Qualitative Report · doi:10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3590 · Cited by 11
“recognition, and cooperation (Baumgartner et al., 2008; Kosfield et al., 2005; MacDonald, & MacDonald, 2010; Nave et al. 2015; Odendaal, & Meintjes, 2003; Van Ijzendorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2012; Zak, Stanton, & Ahmadi, 2007), social memory (Guastella,”
Intergenerational Transmission of Trust: A Dyadic Approach
Wu, C. (2022) · Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World · doi:10.1177/23780231221076994 · Cited by 12
“Lie to me”—Oxytocin impairs lie detection between sexes
Pfundmair, M., Erk, W., & Reinelt, A. (2017) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.07.001 · Cited by 9
A Construct of Trust in Management Studies
Tambovtsev, V. (2018) · Russian Management Journal · doi:10.21638/spbu18.2018.406 · Cited by 11
The role of mesotocin on social bonding in pinyon jays
Duque, J. F., Rasmussen, T., Rodriguez, A., & Stevens, J. R. (2020) · Ethology · doi:10.1111/eth.12990 · Cited by 11
-Phasic Model of xytocin (): A systematic conceptual review of oxytocin-related ERP research
Pehlivanoglu, D., Myers, E., & Ebner, N. C. (2020) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107917 · Cited by 11
The Influence of Reward on Facial Mimicry: No Evidence for a Significant Effect of Oxytocin
Trilla, I., Drimalla, H., Bajbouj, M., & Dziobek, I. (2020) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00088 · Cited by 10
Central but not peripheral oxytocin administration reduces risk-based decision-making in male rats
Tapp, D. N., Singstock, M., Gottliebson, M. S., & McMurray, M. S. (2020) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104840 · Cited by 10
Oxytocin, vasopressin and trust: Associations with aggressive behavior in healthy young males
Berends, Y. R., Tulen, J. H. M., Wierdsma, A. I., PELT, J. V., Kushner, S. A., & Marle, H. J. C. V. (2019) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.02.027 · Cited by 11
Lack of Evidence for the Effect of Oxytocin on Placebo Analgesia and Nocebo Hyperalgesia
Liu, C., Huang, Y., Chen, L., & Yu, R. (2019) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000504967 · Cited by 8
Exposure to Hedione Increases Reciprocity in Humans
Berger, S., Hatt, H., & Ockenfels, A. (2017) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00079 · Cited by 8
“, trustworthiness) and recent reviews even suggest that the cumulative evidence does not provide robust convergent evidence that human trust levels are reliably associated with oxytocin (Nave et al., 2015).”
BackgroundSmith, J. E., Petelle, M. B., Jerome, E. L., Cristofari, H., & Blumstein, D. T. (2017) · Integrative and Comparative Biology · doi:10.1093/icb/icx091 · Cited by 10
Charles, S. J., Farias, M., & Dunbar, R. (2019) · Brain Behavior & Immunity - Health · doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2019.100003 · Cited by 10
The New Statistics for Better Science: Ask How Much, How Uncertain, and What Else is KnownPreprint
Calin-Jageman, R. J., & Cumming, G. (2018) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/3mztg · Cited by 10
Does oxytocin shield against negative effects of ostracism? A replication and extension
Pfundmair, M., & Echterhoff, G. (2021) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108128 · Cited by 11
Berends, Y. R., Tulen, J. H. M., Wierdsma, A. I., PELT, J. V., Feldman, R., Zagoory‐Sharon, O., de Rijke, Y. B., Kushner, S. A., & Marle, H. J. C. V. (2021) · Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology · doi:10.1080/14789949.2021.1985158 · Cited by 7
“In humans, the effect of oxytocin on behavior, particularly aggression, seems to be more complex than in animal models (Gedeon et al., 2019; J.a Bartz et al., 2011; Nave et al., 2015).”
BackgroundWoodruff, C. C., & Stevens, L. C. (2018) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-809837-0.00011-8 · Cited by 9
Placebo Effects in the Neuroendocrine System: Conditioning of the Oxytocin Responses
Skvortsova, A., Veldhuijzen, D. S., Pacheco‐López, G., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Smeets, M. A. M., Wilderjans, T. F., Dahan, A., den Bergh, O. V., Chavannes, N. H., et al. (2019) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000759 · Cited by 10
Personality Neuroscience: Why It Is of Importance to Consider Primary Emotional Systems!
Montag, C., & Panksepp, J. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1338-1 · Cited by 10
Renewing the Study of Trust in World Politics: A Relational Agenda
Balzacq, T. (2022) · Journal of Global Security Studies · doi:10.1093/jogss/ogac019 · Cited by 7
Unchanged food approach‐avoidance behaviour of healthy men after oxytocin administration
Melkonyan, A., Liu, L., Brown, E. C., Meyer, W., Madipakkam, A. R., Ringelmann, L., Lange, F., Schmid, S. M., Münte, T. F., & Park, S. Q. (2020) · Journal of Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1111/jne.12923 · Cited by 7
Hormones, Stress and Financial Decision Making
Herbert, J. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-45500-2_3 · Cited by 8
Oxytocin modulates neural activity during early perceptual salience attribution
Santiago, A., Kosilo, M., Cogoni, C., Diogo, V. S., Jerónimo, R., & Prata, D. P. (2023) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106950 · Cited by 7
“Current research has departed from the simplistic idea that OT would act as a pure facilitator of pro-social behaviour (Nave et al., 2015) and is questioning OT ’ s specificity to social contexts (Harari-Dahan and Bernstein, 2014, 2017; Quintana and Guastella, 2020).”
BackgroundOxytocin-Trust Link in Oxytocin-Sensitive Participants and Those Without Autistic Traits
Kurokawa, H., Kinari, Y., Okudaira, H., Tsubouchi, K., Sai, Y., Kikuchi, M., Higashida, H., & Ohtake, F. (2021) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.659737 · Cited by 6
Berends, Y. R., Tulen, J. H. M., Wierdsma, A. I., de Rijke, Y. B., Kushner, S. A., & Marle, H. J. C. V. (2021) · Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100080 · Cited by 6
“During the last decade, the initial enthusiasm about the potential association between trust, trustworthiness and oxytocin was nuanced and it turned out that the finding that oxytocin enhances trust was difficult to replicate [6].”
BackgroundAge, longevity, and preferences
Sunde, U. (2022) · The Journal of the Economics of Ageing · doi:10.1016/j.jeoa.2022.100427 · Cited by 5
Is oxytocin a trust hormone? Salivary oxytocin is associated with caution but not with general trust
Shou, Q., Yamada, J., Nishina, K., Matsunaga, M., Kiyonari, T., & Takagishi, H. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0267988 · Cited by 7
“[9] pointed out that six previous studies attempted to replicate the study by Kosfeld et al.”
ResultPark, J., Woolley, J. D., & Mendes, W. B. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.916305 · Cited by 7
Dose-response effects of exogenous oxytocin on social cognition: A systematic review
Barton, S., Pruin, A., Schulze, J., Kiebs, M., Scheele, D., & Hurlemann, R. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106350 · Cited by 7
“In general, the effects of oxytocin on social cognition are not easily replicated (Nave et al., 2015).”
Charting 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
Intranasal oxytocin has sympathoexcitatory effects on vascular tone in healthy males
Meusel, M., i, M. H., Machleidt, F., Franzen, K. F., Vonthein, R., & Sayk, F. (2020) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00062.2020 · Cited by 5
Altruistic responses to the most vulnerable involve sensorimotor processes
Vickers, B. D., Seidler, R. D., Stansfield, R. B., Weissman, D. H., & Preston, S. D. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1140986 · Cited by 7
Carré, J. M., Hemsworth, C. T., & Alabi, I. A. (2023) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-023-00229-8 · Cited by 6
“Despite receiving substantial coverage in the media, these initial findings have failed to replicate (see Nave et al., 2015 for a review).”
BackgroundReply to: Improving Research Standards to Restore Trust in Intranasal Oxytocin
Leng, G., & Ludwig, M. (2015) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.030 · Cited by 6
Personality Neuroscience: Why It Is of Importance to Consider Primary Emotional Systems!
Montag, C., & Panksepp, J. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1338 · Cited by 6
Influences of social uncertainty and serotonin on gambling decisions
Bellucci, G., Münte, T. F., & Park, S. Q. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-13778-x · Cited by 4
Neural Correlates and Mechanisms of Trust
Eskander, E., Sanders, N., & Nam, C. S. (2020) · Cognitive science and technology · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-34784-0_22 · Cited by 4
Endocrine state is the physical manifestation of subjective beliefs
Smith, T. G. (2023) · Journal of Economic Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.joep.2023.102620 · Cited by 4
Neuroscience Needs to Test Both Statistical and Scientific Hypotheses
Alger, B. E. (2022) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1134-22.2022 · Cited by 5
Javor, A., Zamarian, L., Ransmayr, G. N., Prieschl, M., Bergmann, M., Walser, G., Luef, G., Prokop, W., Delazer, M., & Unterberger, I. (2020) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107138 · Cited by 3
The role of genes in altruistic behavior: Evidence from quantitative genetics and molecular genetics
Haihong, L. I., Shang, S., & Xiaofei, X. I. E. (2022) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2022.01574 · Cited by 3
Wu, W. (2023) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.107645 · Cited by 3
Juvenile chronic social defeat stress reduces prosocial behavior in adult male mice
Zhao, Z., Zhang, M., Tang, Q., Lu, M., An, X., Cui, Y., Zhao, M., Qian, N., Shao, J., Shi, H., et al. (2024) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.pbb.2024.173941 · Cited by 3
The application of computational modelling in the studies of moral cognition
Zhang, Y., Li, H., & Wu, Y. (2020) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2020.01042 · Cited by 3
Dissecting social decision-making: A spotlight on oxytocinergic transmission
Coccia, G., Greca, F. L., Luca, M. D., & Scheggia, D. (2022) · Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnmol.2022.1061934 · Cited by 3
“However, subsequent efforts for replicating these initial results have failed, forcing researchers to downsize or review the claims around IN-OXT and its social properties (Nave et al., 2015; Declerck et al., 2020; Macchia et al., 2022).”
BackgroundHuman, L. J., Thorson, K. R., Woolley, J. D., & Mendes, W. B. (2017) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.03.002 · Cited by 3
Why Does It Feel So Good to Care for Others and for Myself?
Birkett, M., & Sasaki, J. Y. (2018) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-809837-0.00007-6 · Cited by 3
Fuchshuber, J., Tatzer, J., Hiebler‐Ragger, M., Trinkl, F., Kimmerle, A., Rinner, A., Buchheim, A., Schrom, S., Rinner, B., Leber, K. A., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.460506 · Cited by 3
“, (43, 44)], we additionally corrected for multiple comparisons via the Bonferroni correction.”
MethodOxytocin amplifies the influence of good intentions on social judgments
Zhang, J., Zhou, C., & Yu, R. (2019) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104589 · Cited by 5
Zhao, W., Luo, R., Sindermann, C., Li, J., Wei, Z., Zhang, Y., Liu, C., Le, J., Quintana, D. S., Montag, C., et al. (2019) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/552703 · Cited by 3
“Indeed, recent comprehensive replication studies failed to replicate modulatory effects of intranasal OXT on core domains initially associated with OXT, including ‘mind reading’ [3,11] as well as trust - both when money ([1]; for contrasting findings [12], critical review by [10]) or confidential personal information…”
BackgroundResultBudniok, S., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., Bosmans, G., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106500 · Cited by 2
Leong, I. L., Wang, X., & Wu, H. (2026) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106566 · Cited by 5
Oxytocin promotes action prediction
Burgstaller, J., Paulus, M., & Pfundmair, M. (2018) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.09.004 · Cited by 2
“, 2016) and replication failures (Nave et al., 2015; Radke and de Bruijn, 2015) have been reported repeatedly in the past.”
Controversies around Neuroeconomics: Empirical, Methodological and Philosophical Issues
Serra, D. (2023) · Revue de philosophie économique · doi:10.3917/rpec.232.0135 · Cited by 2
A multiverse meta-analysis of oxytocin administration studies
Kang, H., Deilhaug, E., Walle, K. M., Sartorius, A. M., & Quintana, D. S. (2025) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109112 · Cited by 2
Salivary Oxytocin Has Nonlinear Relationships with Trust and Reciprocity
Arai, S., Watabe, M., Kanari, K., Shou, Q., Krüeger, F., & Takagishi, H. (2023) · Games · doi:10.3390/g14010017 · Cited by 2
Szymanska, M., Chateau‐Smith, C., Monnin, J., Andrieu, P., Girard, F., Galdon, L., Schneider, M., Pazart, L., Nezelof, S., & Vulliez‐Coady, L. (2016) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/resprot.5643 · Cited by 2
“This lack of consensus together with many inconsistent results have led researchers [60-62] to openly question the true impact either of IN-OT in general or of its potential therapeutic effect [63].”
ResultBeyond the social stereotypes of hormones
Koren, L., & Gordon, I. (2017) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.06.007 · Cited by 2
“This has led several researchers to doubt the effects of intranasal oxytocin, claiming them as underpowered with low replicability and merit (Nave et al., 2015; Walum et al., 2016).”
BackgroundYan, Z., & Kirsch, P. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108770880.018 · Cited by 2
Grebe, N. M., Sheikh, A., Ohannessian, L., & Drea, C. M. (2023) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106044 · Cited by 2
Joseph, S. K., Wagman, E. K., Diab, N., Ryu, N., Lee, M., Haas, R., Rilling, J. K., Aldenderfer, M. S., & Lindo, J. (2024) · Genes Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1111/gbb.12877 · Cited by 2
“68 In the Terminal Archaic Period, 5.0 – 3.5 ka, foraging economies gradually transitioned to agro-pastoral economies and village sedent-ism.”
BackgroundInfluentialItem Features Interact With Item Category in Their Influence on Preferences
Oren, S., Sela, T., Levy, D. J., & Schönberg, T. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00988 · Cited by 3
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0008 · Cited by 2
Hormonal Control of Maternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals
Numan, M. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190848675.003.0003 · Cited by 2
Empathy, stress and biopsychological homeostasis. Hormonal-loop disorders theoryPreprint
Naumov, D. (2022) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/qyra3 · Cited by 2
Liu, R., Stolk, A., de Boer, M., Oostenveld, R., & Toni, I. (2021) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/kq9g6 · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Nave, G., Camerer, C., & McCullough, M.
- Affiliations
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Miami (US)
- Corresponding author
- Nave, Gideon
- Venue
- Perspectives on Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-11
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 772-789
- ISSN
- 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
- 1745-6924
- OpenAlex
- W2189156543
- Semantic Scholar
- 3aadb7002f83415c5b398a6a122c7ce14599dc24
- Cited by
- 316
- References
- 178
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 51 · 2019: 44 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 48 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 3.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Keywords
- oxytocin, trust, individual differences, replication, research rigor, social attachment, neuropeptides
- MeSH terms
- Administration, Intranasal, Genetic Markers, Humans, Oxytocin, Polymorphism, Genetic, Biomarkers, Receptors, Oxytocin, Trust
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
