BAUMGARTNER ET AL (2025) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2025

Baumgartner et al (2008) - ANSWER This study can be used for... - ANSWER 1. research methods used in the biological approach 2. techniques used to study the brain in relation to behaviour 3. hormones and behaviour 4. biological origins of human relationships Aim - ANSWER To see if increased levels of oxytocin would affect levels of trust Research method - ANSWER lab experiment Participants - ANSWER 49 particpants Procedure - ANSWER - The participants played a trust game used by economists and neuroscientists to study social interaction. The "investor" (player 1) receives a sum of money and must decide whether to keep it or share it with a "trustee" (player 2). If the sum is shared the sum is tripled. Then player 2 must decide if this sum should be shared (trust) or kept (violation of trust).- fMRI scans were carried out on 49 participants. They received either oxytocin or placebo via a nasal spray.- Participants played against different trustees in the trust game and against a computer in a risk game. In 50% of the games their trust was broken. They received feedback on this from the experimenters during the games. Findings - ANSWER - Participants in the placebo group were likely to show less trust after feedback on betrayal. They invested less. Participants in the oxytocin group continued to invest at similar rates after receiving feedback on a breach of trust.- The fMRI scans showed decreases in responses in the amygdala and the caudate nucleus. The amygdala is involved in emotional processing and has many oxytocin receptors. The caudate nucleus is associated with learning and memory and plays a role in reward-related responses and learning to trust. Conclusions - ANSWER Increased levels of oxytocin can correlate to increased levels of trust