Friday, June 03, 2005

Oxytocin increases Trust in Humans

From Nature Article: "Can you bottle trust? The answer, it seems, is yes. Researchers have produced a potion that, when sniffed, makes people more likely to give their cash to someone to look after.

A Swiss-led research team tested their creation on volunteers playing an investment game for real money. When they inhaled the nasal spray, investors were more likely to hand over money to a trustee, knowing that, although they could make a hefty profit, they could also lose everything if the trustee decided not to give any of the money back."

Dr. Ernst Fehr, a professor of economics at the University of Zurich provides his paper online:

Oxytocin increases Trust in Humans, NATURE 435, 2 June 2005, 673-676 (with Michael Kosfeld, Markus Heinrichs, Paul Zak and Urs Fischbacher)

Download PDF Paper

Antonio Damasio on Brain Trust, NATURE 435, 2 June 2005, 571-572

Related research by Dr. Ernst Fehr :

Neuroeconomic Foundations of Trust and Social Preferences, forthcoming in American Economic Review (with Urs Fischbacher and Michael Kosfeld)

The Neuroeconomics of Mind Reading and Empathy, forthcoming in American Economic Review (with Tania Singer)

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