Previous studies already showed that oxytocin promotes prosocial behavior. In addition, former research suggested that the effect of oxytocin depends on contextual and individual features. The...Show morePrevious studies already showed that oxytocin promotes prosocial behavior. In addition, former research suggested that the effect of oxytocin depends on contextual and individual features. The current study examined the effect of intranasally administered oxytocin on donating money to charity and whether experiences of negative parenting (love withdrawal and harsh discipline) in the past moderated this relationship. It was hypothesized that participants who received oxytocin would donate more money than participants who received a placebo. In addition, it was hypothesized that participants without a history of negative parenting would donate more money than participants who did experience negative parenting in the past and that the effect of oxytocin on donating money was stronger for participants without a history of negative parenting, compared to participants who did experience negative parenting in the past. The sample consisted of 57 female undergraduate students. Participants randomly received either an oxytocin or a placebo nasal spray at the beginning of the session. To measure experiences with negative parenting, questionnaires were used to measure experiences with parental use of love withdrawal and harsh discipline in the past. Because the participants underwent a long experiment, they received 50 Euros afterwards to thank them for their participation. At the end, after they had received the money, participants were shown a video of UNICEF and were asked to donate some money to charity. No main effects of oxytocin, experiences of parental use of love withdrawal and harsh discipline in the past on the amount of money donated were found. Experiences with parental use of harsh discipline as a moderator also failed to reach significance. But experiences with parental use of love withdrawal moderated the relationship between administered oxytocin and donating money. The positive effect of oxytocin (donating more money after oxytocin administration than after placebo administration) was mainly found for participants who experienced less love withdrawal in the past.Show less
