Effects of oxytocin on empathy and emotion recognition in inter-group contexts

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Alexander Lischke
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience ; Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: from 2016 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 280108539

Over the last decade, the neuropeptide oxytocin has attracted much attention due to its impressive effects on emotion recognition and empathy (Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2011). Oxytocin has, thus, been regarded as one of the most promising agents for the treatment of individuals with deficits in emotion recognition and empathy (Striepens et al., 2011). However, oxytocin does not affect emotion recognition and empathy in a predictable manner. Depending on individual- and context-related factors, oxytocin may either enhance or impair emotion recognition and empathy (Bartz et al., 2011), rendering it almost useless for treatment purposes. Consequently, there is a need for studies investigating how individual- and context-related factors moderate the effects of oxytocin on emotion recognition and empathy. Such studies may help to inform therapists about individual- and context-dependent factors affecting the outcome of oxytocin-based treatment approaches (Bartz et al., 2011). Studies investigating the effects of oxytocin on empathy and emotion recognition in inter-group contexts may well be suited to elucidate the individual- and context-dependency of these effects because the design of these studies comprises individual- as well as context-related factors (e.g. in-group and out-group members interacting in cooperative or competitive settings). Accordingly, group status differentially affects emotion recognition and empathy in inter-group contexts, in particular in contexts that are characterized by competition rather than cooperation (Ellemers, 2021). Individuals differ in their ability to recognize emotions of in-group and out-group members as well as in their ability to show empathetic responses to the distress of in-group and out-group members. Although oxytocin appears to facilitate this inter-group bias in emotion recognition and empathy, the mechanisms underlying oxytocin-induced changes in emotion recognition and empathy in inter-group contexts remain to be determined (DeDreu, 2012). We will, thus, perform two studies to investigate how oxytocin affects the recognition of emotional expressions of in-group and out-group members and one study to investigate how oxytocin affects empathetic responses to painful expressions of in-group and out-group members. Each study will be performed in a context that is characterized by intra-group cooperation and inter-group competition. Since we will combine multiple measures in these studies, we will be able to investigate how group status and group context moderate the effects of oxytocin on emotion recognition and empathy at the behavioral, physiological and neural level. The findings of these studies will provide important insights into the individual- and context-dependency of oxytocin-induced changes in emotion recognition and empathy, thereby promoting the development of oxytocin-based treatment approaches for individuals with deficits in emotion recognition and empathy.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants