Hormones and Behavior - Short Answer Response

Hormones are chemical messengers secreted by specialized glands of the endocrine system. They reach their target organs through the blood and thus affect behavior depending on the organ they affect. One hormone that causes an effect on human behavior is oxytocin. Oxytocin is released by the pituitary gland. It plays a role in sexual reproduction, childbirth, and social bonding. It also plays a role in establishing the bond between the mother and the child. Scheele et al conducted a study that investigated the effect of oxytocin on the behavior of human fidelity.

An experiment was conducted that aimed to investigate the role of oxytocin in promoting fidelity in humans. Oxytocin, or a placebo, was administered to the participants intranasally. After this, participants had to participate in two tasks. In the stop-distance paradigm, the participant stood at one end of the room and an attractive female confederate stood at the other end. Participants were instructed to approach the female confederate and stop at a distance that made them feel uncomfortable. In the approach/avoidance task, participants were positioned in front of a screen and had a joystick. They were then shown a series of pictures of four types, positive and negative social pictures, and positive and negative non-social pictures in random order. If the participant liked the picture, he had to pull the joystick and if he did not like the picture; he had to push the joystick.

The results of the first task showed that the oxytocin caused men to keep a greater distance from the attractive female confederate, but only if he was in a stable relationship. Results of the second task showed that the only group of pictures affected by oxytocin and relationship status was the positive social group (pictures of attractive women). Men in a relationship (but not single men) pulled the joystick more slowly in the oxytocin condition but not in the placebo condition. The study thus concluded that oxytocin causes men in a relationship to keep a greater distance from attractive women who are not their partners. Researchers explained that this promotes fidelity. The second task makes it evident that this effect of oxytocin is highly specific and selective to a certain group of stimuli: attractive women.

Thus, this study showed that the hormone oxytocin could cause changes in behavior, as seen due to the comparison of participant behavior between participants given the placebo to those exposed to oxytocin. Therefore, hormones can influence human behavior.