Gift Giving Guy

Christmas Eve can kindle your spirit of generosity. And if that doesn’t work, you could try inhaling a brain hormone called oxytocin (but only with a prescription, please). Researchers have discovered that subjects given a nasal spray of oxytocin were more generous in giving experiments. Neuroeconomist Paul Zak published a study last month in the Public Library of Science’s journal, ONE, entitled Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans (pdf download). This hormone occurs naturally, most notably when women give birth. The word oxytocin has roots in Greek, meaning “quick birth,” because the hormone can be used to induce labor.

In this study, Zak gave male college students $10 to keep. (Women were not studied to avoid the possibility of a miscarriage.) Then students played a computer game, asking them to share part of the $10 with randomly selected strangers who they did not meet face-to-face. Students with the oxytocin boost gave 80 percent more than those administered a saline placebo.

So forget what I said earlier about snorting oxytocin. You see, the brain also releases this bonding hormone when we feel friendship or love. Zak underscores this point in his conclusion: “Although we artificially raised [oxytocin] levels in this study to establish a causal mechanism producing generosity, [oxytocin] can be enhanced non-pharmacologically in a variety of ways, including touching, safe environments, and receiving a signal of trust from another person.” In other words, sharing affection and gifts can trigger this “giving hormone” and, in turn, may increase generosity.