Oxytocin biases men to be more or less tolerant of others’ dislike dependent upon their relationship status

Abstract

The experience of being liked or disliked by others strongly influences our liking for and willingness to socialize with them. The neuropeptide oxytocin is involved in social bonding and can modify social preferences for others dependent upon their characteristics. However, it is unclear whether oxytocin affects individuals’ reactions to social evaluations made by others (i.e., being liked or disliked) and if this is influenced by already having a secure partner bond (i.e., being single or in a relationship). We therefore performed a double-blind, between-subject, placebo controlled design study on 86 healthy males to investigate the effects of intranasal oxytocin (40IU) on the respective impact of being liked or disliked by others, and whether this was influenced by current relationship status. Results showed while oxytocin decreased negative reactions to being disliked in single men it had the opposite effect on men in a relationship, and this occurred primarily when dislike was expressed by females rather than males. In contrast, for men in a relationship oxytocin enhanced mood and affiliation tendency following being liked independent of the gender of the feedback provider. Thus, oxytocin may make single men looking for a potential partner more positive socially even towards females who dislike them, but has the opposite effect in men in a relationship who are not looking for a partner. These results provide further support for the context-dependency of oxytocin effects’ on social preferences, and thereby the social salience hypothesis-based explanation of its actions.