scheele et al (2012) hormones

• Hormone is a chemical messenger that travels through the bloodstream to target cells or organs, where it binds with receptors on their surface.
• The endocrine system consists of glands that produce hormones which are released into the bloodstream.
• aim: to investigate the role of oxytocin in promoting fidelity in humans
• ppts: 86 heterosexual men, some single and some in stable relationships
• procedure: either oxytocin or a placebo were given to the participants. after this, they were asked to engage in 2 tasks:
• • procedure - task 1 stop distance paradigm: the participant stood at one end of the room and the attractive female confederate stood at the other end. participants were instructed to slowly move towards the female confederate and stop at a distance that made them feel slightly uncomfortable
• findings - task 1: oxytocin caused the men to keep a greater distance from the women, but only if the man was in a stable relationship
• • procedure - task 2 avoidance task: participants were positioned in front of a screen with a joystick. they were shown a series of pictures in a random order. if the participant liked the picture, he had to pull the joystick to make the picture bigger, however if they did not like the picture they had to push the joystick to make the picture smaller.
• findings - task 2: the postive social picture (of attractive women) were the only set of pictures affected by oxytocin. men In stable relationships zoomed in slower than the single men in the oxytocin condition, but not in the placebo.
• conclusion: oxytocin promotes fidelity. it causes men in relationships to keep a distance from women who are not their partners. the effects are only specific to attractive women.