The Detrimental Effects of Oxytocin-Induced Conformity on Dishonesty in Competition

Abstract

Justifications may promote unethical behavior because they constitute a convenient loophole through which people can gain from immoral behavior and preserve a positive self-image at the same time. A justification that is widely used is rooted in conformity: Unethical choices become more permissible because one's peers are expected to make the same unethical choices. In the current study, we tested whether an exogenous alteration of conformity led to a lower inclination to adhere to a widely accepted norm (i.e., honesty) under the pressure of competition. We took advantage of the well-known effects of intranasally applied oxytocin on affiliation, in-group conformity, and in-group favoritism in humans. We found that conformity was enhanced by oxytocin, and this enhancement had a detrimental effect on honesty in a competitive environment but not in a noncompetitive environment. Our findings contribute to recent evidence showing that competition may lead to unethical behavior and erode moral values.

Oxytocin promotes lying for personal gain in a genotype-dependent manner

“…Previous studies have reported that OXT administration only led to increased lying behaviour (compared to PLC) when it benefitted an in-group (including oneself) and in competitive environments, in which participants were concerned that another person would take the money by lying if they did not also do so. But no effects on pure self-serving lying behaviour were observed [6, 7]. This might at first glance seem contradictory to the present results.…”

“…In the OXT administration studies by Shalvi and colleagues and Aydogan et al [6, 7], coin-toss tasks were used where participants only had two choices: “lie” or “be honest”. In comparison, in the present study participants had more gradations of honesty or lying to choose from.…”

“…After the die-in-a-cup paradigm participants were asked to rate how honest they thought other participants would be in the die-in-a-cup paradigm on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = totally dishonest; 7 = totally honest). This was done to assess i) if genetic underpinnings and/or treatment would influence the belief about the honesty of others ii) if differences in the belief about the honesty of others (on group level) would be associated with differences in honesty or lying behaviour (on group level) (see for example [7]).…”

“…Despite the frequent occurrence of (self-serving) lying in everyday life, surprisingly little is known about its biological underpinnings. Two previous studies have reported that intranasal administration of the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) increases lying for financial gain when it benefits an in-group (including oneself) [6], or in a competitive situation in association with conformity to perceived deceptiveness of others [7]. However, using a coin-toss (prediction) task in which participants have only two possible choices – to “lie” or “be honest” –, neither study found evidence for effects on pure self-serving lying.…”

Oxytocin facilitates self-serving rather than altruistic tendencies in competitive social interactions via orbitofrontal cortex

“…Although many prosocial effects of OXT have been reported it has also been found to promote self-serving lying and group-serving dishonesty (Sindermann, 2018, Shalvi & De Dreu, 2014). In addition, OXT’s detrimental effect on honesty was found in a competitive environment and driven by conformity with the behavior of peers (Aydogan, Jobst, D’Ardenne, Müller, & Kocher, 2017). On the other hand, intranasal OXT also tends to increase both altruistic help as well as costly altruistic (altruistic punishment) behaviors (Hu et al, 2016; Aydogan, Furtner, et al, 2017).…”