title: A matter of distance-The effect of oxytocin on social discounting is empathy-dependent.
abstract: Generosity is an important behavior enriching human society and can be observed across cultures. However, generosity has been shown to be modulated as a function of social distance, also referred to as social discounting. Oxytocin and empathy are other factors that have been shown to play an important role in generous behavior. However, how exactly oxytocin and empathy impact social discounting is yet unknown. Here, we administered oxytocin or placebo in a double-blind design, and measured social discounting behavior. Additionally, individual differences in empathy were assessed. Our results show that the effect of oxytocin on generous behavior is modulated by trait empathy; only for those subjects who received oxytocin there was a positive correlation between individual trait empathy and their generous behavior towards close others.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Germany. Electronic address: sabrina.strang@uni-luebeck.de.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strang
authors.affiliation: Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oroz Artigas
authors.affiliation: Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, Germany; Division of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hurlemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Soyoung Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000328:Adult; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004645:Empathy / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012931:Social Environment; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin
keywords: Empathy; Generosity; Oxytocin; Social discounting; Social distance