Evidence suggests the existence of a possible correlation between oxytocin levels, degree of empathy and in turn prosocial behavior. To further our understanding, the current study examined the...Show moreEvidence suggests the existence of a possible correlation between oxytocin levels, degree of empathy and in turn prosocial behavior. To further our understanding, the current study examined the hypothesis whether donating behaviour could be explained by an influence of endogenous oxytocin on empathic concern. Thirty undergraduate 18-30 year old female students were selected from a larger study (van IJzendoorn, Huffmeijer, Alink, Brakermans-Kranenburg & Tops, 2011), which consisted of two experimental sessions. The current study conducted a secondary analysis of some of the data gathered during the second session of the original study, specifically from the participants who received a saline solution in the second experimental session. Levels of endogenous oxytocin in saliva samples, measures of empathy (interpersonal reactivity index questionnaire) and donations to measure donating behavior; were gathered in the original study and were also analyzed in the current study. Several simple regression analyses as well as a multiple regression analysis were conducted to test the hypothesis. The findings revealed no significant explanatory power of endogenous oxytocin and empathic concern on donating behaviour. Thus, the hypothesis was not confirmed. Both the use of an out-group individual as a recipient of the donations and the fact that all participants were likely highly socially proficient and empathic, may explain the null results. For future research it is recommended to use a more diverse sample including participants with both high and low social skills and to compare donating behaviour to in-group and out-group recipients. Finally, the differences between the prosocial effects of endogenous versus exogenous oxytocin levels should be determined.Show less
Reading comprehension is a dynamic process which is influenced by a range of text characteristics and individual characteristics (Van den Broek, 1994). An important text characteristic is coherence...Show moreReading comprehension is a dynamic process which is influenced by a range of text characteristics and individual characteristics (Van den Broek, 1994). An important text characteristic is coherence, a measure of the interconnectedness of information within a text, which can be assessed locally and globally. This study was intended to conceptually replicate previous research using event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the maintenance of global coherence. ERPs were computed for critical words in each story to compare the difference in mean amplitude of the N400 component across coherent and incoherent story conditions. The N400 is thought to be inversely related to the ease with which semantic processing is carried out (Nieuwland & Van Berkum, 2006). It was hypothesised that breaks in global coherence would produce an N400 effect relative to the coherent control condition. A repeated measures ANOVA was carried out to test whether the N400 amplitude, measured as mean amplitude in the 300 – 500ms post critical word time window across 11 chosen scalp sites, was more strongly negative for critical words in the incoherent condition than for those in the coherent condition. Mean amplitude values for the N400 were more negative for critical words in the incoherent condition than those in the coherent condition across 7 out of 11 scalp sites, but the differences did not reach significance.Show less
