Skip to content

Study · Randomized controlled trial · n = 172 · 2015

3 results

The Neuropeptide Oxytocin Induces a Social Altruism Bias.

Marsh N, Scheele D, Gerhardt H, Strang S, Enax L, Weber B, Maier W, Hurlemann R

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience1 Nov 2015Cited by 35 (Europe PMC)

PMID26609161 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC6705471 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1523/jneurosci.3199-15.2015 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-26609161
Read at sourcePubMedAsk about this study
Jump to 3 results

Summary

The text of this summary is not shown here, because the article license does not allow reuse. Read it at the source (opens in a new tab)

Text rights: CC BY-NC. Results still quote short attributed sentences.

Results from this study3

3 results from studies that gave the peptide. 3 results from people.

  1. 01HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In healthy participants, oxytocin shifted donations away from pro-environmental toward pro-social charities.

    In plain wordsIn healthy people, oxytocin shifted giving away from environmental causes toward social causes.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    MixedDonation priorities, social versus ecological charities
    Study

    n = 172

    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    We found that oxytocin induced a context-dependent change in altruistic behavior away from pro-environmental toward pro-social donations
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    In two independent experiments involving 172 human participants, we addressed this question by exposing subjects to a sustainability-related monetary donation task, with the option to support either socially or ecologically framed charities.
  2. 02HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In healthy participants, oxytocin kept the overall proportion of donated money constant.

    In plain wordsIn healthy people, oxytocin did not change how much money in total was donated.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeOverall proportion of donated money
    Study

    n = 172

    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    while keeping constant the overall proportion of donated money
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    In two independent experiments involving 172 human participants, we addressed this question by exposing subjects to a sustainability-related monetary donation task, with the option to support either socially or ecologically framed charities.
  3. 03HumanRandomized controlled trialEfficacy outcome

    In healthy participants, the pro-social bias induced by oxytocin transcended to the domain of sustainable consumption.

    In plain wordsIn healthy people, the shift toward social causes under oxytocin also showed up in sustainable consumption choices.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    Not applicableSustainable consumption bias
    Study

    n = 172

    Outcome group
    Social behavior and cognition · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    This pro-social bias transcended to the domain of sustainable consumption.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    In two independent experiments involving 172 human participants, we addressed this question by exposing subjects to a sustainability-related monetary donation task, with the option to support either socially or ecologically framed charities.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 2Current

    11 Oct 2026, 01:30 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 1

    9 Oct 2026, 02:49 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

PepBank is a research reference. Talk to a doctor before you use any peptide.