The "Love Hormone" Helps Us Lie: Study

Oxytocin, also known as the "love hormone" has been associated with a heightened willingness to lie for the benefit of one's group, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, details the work of researchers from the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev in Israel and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and focuses on the effects that oxytocin has on ethical decision making.

Past research has determined that heightened levels of oxytocin in a person lead to more empathy, trust and acceptance. Recent research has even looked into the application of oxytocin therapy as a means to help people with social anxiety disorders -- such as an eating disorder -- dwell less on negative social factors and ideas.

This latest research looks into the theory that the hormone  encourages greater feelings of association between people, making them more willing to bend or break ethical responsibilities for the sake of their group.

According to the study, the researchers had 20 teams of three male participants to take a dose of either oxytocin or a placebo. The teams were then asked to predict the results of a coin toss ten times and record whether or not they got the answer right. The amount of money each team was rewarded at the end of the experiment was determined by how many times the predicted the toss correctly.

The participants were not observed by researchers during their coin tosses, but were asked to be honest about whether or not they were correct in their predictions.

According to the authors of the study, the statistical probability of someone guessing correctly for all, or even just nine of the ten coin tosses is approximately one percent. However, 53 percent of  the groups who received oxytocin doses reported having done just that -- indicating a high probability that they lied about the accuracy of their predictions.

Interestingly, only 23 percent of the groups who had received a placebo similarly lied about their coin toss results in order to earn more money for the group.

According to Dr, Shaul Shalvi, who led the study, these results likely happened because the dose of oxytocin made the men who received it feel a stronger bond with their groups members, and thus more likely to lie for the group's sake.

"Our results suggest people are willing to bend ethical rules to help the people close to us, like our team or family," he explained, going on to question whether or not lying is then always "unethical."

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science for the April issue.