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Oxytocin nudges distrustful men to invest 15% more in anonymous trust game

Phys · · 696 words · By University
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What to know about Oxytocin nudges distrustful men to invest 15% more in anonymous trust game

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that intranasally administered oxytocin increases trusting behavior specifically in men with a low disposition to trust. The research, led by the University of Zurich, found a 15-17% increase in investment during an anonymous trust game compared to a placebo group.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 9
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Oxytocin nudges distrustful men to invest 15% more in anonymous trust game Swati Mestri Scientific Editor Robert Egan Senior Editor In 2005, a research team led by University of Zurich economics professor Ernst Fehr published a study in the journal Nature…

Why it matters

Oxytocin is a hormone and neurotransmitter produced naturally in the body that influences social interactions, among other things.

Common ground

Further studies conducted in subsequent years did not deliver a uniform picture, however.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that intranasally administered oxytocin increases trusting behavior specifically in men with a low disposition to trust. The research, led by the University of Zurich, found a 15-17% increase in investment during an anonymous trust game compared to a placebo group.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-oxytocin-nudges-distrustful-men-invest.html

analyticsAnalysis

0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info
Claim 1: “an international research team consisting of Ernst Fehr (University of Zurich), Bodo Vogt and Paul Bengart (Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg), and Carolyn Declerck (University of Antwerp) recruited 359 men who were rated as having a low disposition to trust based on a preliminary questionnaire.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this specific claim are generic advertisements for study tools (Study.com, Quizlet) and do not contain any information regarding the research team or the recruitment of 359 men.
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web search NEUTRAL — How do you want to study? Discover, create, and master your study material — all in one place. Take control of your learning and hit your goals with Quizlet.
https://quizlet.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Take online courses on Study.com that are fun and engaging. Pass exams to earn real college credit. Research schools and degrees to further your education.
https://study.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Master any subject with Studley AI. Trusted by more than 3 million top students. Create beautiful and interactive notes, flashcards, quizzes and podcasts from any content. Study smarter, not harder.
https://www.studley.ai/
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Claim 2: “The study instead shows that the hormone selectively increases trusting behavior in men with a low disposition to trust.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources indicate that oxytocin selectively increases trust in those with a low disposition to trust, rather than a general increase across all participants.
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web search NEUTRAL — Oxytocin and vasopressin are the only known hormones released by the human posterior pituitary gland to act at a distance. However, oxytocin neurons make other peptides, including corticotropin-releas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin
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web search NEUTRAL — Oxytocin is a natural hormone that manages key aspects of the female and male reproductive systems, including labor and delivery and lactation, as well as aspects of human behavior. Your hypothalamus …
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22618-oxytoci…
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 8, 2024 · Oxytocin, known as the "love hormone," is key in emotions such as attraction, trust, and bonding. It helps with labor contractions, milk production during breastfeeding, and sexual arous…
https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/what-to-know-about-o…
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Claim 3: “In 2005, a research team led by University of Zurich economics professor Ernst Fehr published a study in the journal Nature that provided evidence for the first time that intranasally administered oxytocin can increase trusting behavior in humans.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that in 2005, a team led by Ernst Fehr published a study in Nature showing that intranasal oxytocin increases trusting behavior in humans.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Paul W. Glimcher (born November 3, 1961) is an American neuroeconomist, neuroscientist, psychologist, and economist. He is the Julius Silver Professor of Neural Science at New York University and has …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Glimcher
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker. He was one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Ludwig_Kirchner
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Inequity aversion (IA) is the preference for fairness and resistance to incidental inequalities. The social sciences that study inequity aversion include sociology, economics, psychology, anthropology…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inequity_aversion
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “Oxytocin is a hormone and neurotransmitter produced naturally in the body that influences social interactions, among other things.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources describe oxytocin as a naturally produced hormone and neurotransmitter that influences social interactions, bonding, and trust.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Oxytocin—sometimes called the “cuddle hormone” or the “chemical of love”—is a hormone and brain neurotransmitter that enhances bonding and trust in relationships, which plays a critical role in your o…
https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/oxytocin-13-natural-ways-to…
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web search NEUTRAL — Oxytocin a naturally occurring hormone.Oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin are often referred to as our “happy hormones.” When you’re attracted to another person, your brain releases dopamine, your sero…
https://www.healthline.com/health/love-hormone
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web search NEUTRAL — Oxytocin is a hormone and neurotransmitter produced in the hypothalamus, a region nestled deep within your brain. The hypothalamus is often compared to a control center, directing various physiologica…
https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/bio…
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Claim 5: “The researchers employed a trust game involving two roles: that of an investor and that of a trustee. Both investor and trustee received an endowment of 12 euros at the start of the game.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the use of a trust game where both the investor and trustee received an initial endowment of 12 euros.
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web search NEUTRAL — Both investor and trustee received an endowment of 12 euros at the start of the game. In the role of investor, subjects chose whether they wanted to entrust 0, 4, 8 or 12 euros to an unknown person. T…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-oxytocin-nudges-distrustful-me…
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web search NEUTRAL — Hence, both the Investor and Trustees were playing for real monetary pay-offs. The critical observation was that participants transferred more frequently (i.e., a 5% to 7% transfer increase) to Truste…
https://hal.science/hal-03025378/file/trust++fmri+paper+JNPE…
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web search NEUTRAL — The trustee's final payoff is given by his initial endowment plus the tripled transfer of the investor, minus the back transfer to the investor. At the end of the experiment, the earned MU are exchang…
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-trust-gameBoth-subje…
info
Claim 6: “The pooled analysis of a total of 578 men with a low disposition to trust revealed an almost 17% increase in trusting behavior.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one specific web search result mentions the pooled analysis of 578 men and the 17% increase. Other sources mention the 15% figure for the initial group but not the pooled 17% figure.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Norfolk and Western 578 is a preserved 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive. Built by American Locomotive Company's (ALCO) Richmond Works in March 1910, No. 578 was assigned to pull premiere passenge…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_and_Western_578
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tiberius II Constantine (Latin: Tiberius Cōnstantīnus; Ancient Greek: Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος, romanized: Tibérios Kōnstantĩnos; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 578 to 582. Tiberius r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius_II_Constantine
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Year 578 (DLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 578 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/578
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 7: “The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The search results mention PNAS and other papers by authors named Vogt, but none of the results confirm that the specific study regarding oxytocin and low-trust men by Bodo Vogt et al. was published in PNAS.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carotenoid isomerooxygenase (EC 1.13.11.65, ninaB (gene)) is an enzyme with systematic name zeaxanthin:oxygen 15,15'-oxidoreductase (bond-cleaving, cis-isomerizing). This enzyme catalyses the followin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotenoid_isomerooxygenase
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Oskar Vogt (6 April 1870 in Husum – 30 July 1959 in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German physician and neurologist. He and his wife Cécile Vogt-Mugnier are known for their extensive cytoarchetectonic s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Vogt
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peter K. Vogt (born March 10, 1932) is an American molecular biologist, virologist and geneticist. His research focuses on retroviruses and viral and cellular oncogenes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_K._Vogt
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 8: “Bodo Vogt et al, Oxytocin increases trust in men low in dispositional trust, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2602655123”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found to support the existence of this specific paper, and the date provided (2026) is in the future, making it unverifiable with current data.
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Claim 9: “Men with a low disposition to trust who received oxytocin entrusted an average of around 15% more money to their counterpart than the low-trusting men in the placebo group did.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web search results explicitly state that men with a low disposition to trust who received oxytocin entrusted approximately 15% more money than the placebo group.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in The X-Men #1 (Septembe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Men is the plural of man, an adult male human being. Men or MEN may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.