Weird "love" hormone makes you hate THEM - Robert Sapolsky

Summary

This script delves into the intriguing role of oxytocin, a hormone with a 100-million-year history linked to bonding in mothers and infants, and its evolution in species forming pair bonds. In humans, it's associated with trust, generosity, and social connection. However, it also intensifies 'us versus them' tribalism, as highlighted by studies showing its influence on pro-social behavior and empathy, which can be biased towards those perceived as part of one's own group. The discussion underscores how our brains quickly categorize others and the potential for both positive and negative societal implications.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Oxytocin, a hormone present for over 100 million years, plays a crucial role in mother-infant bonding and social connections across species.
• 🐭 In lab rats, the absence of oxytocin leads to a failure in maternal attachment, highlighting its importance in bonding.
• 💑 About 60 million years ago, oxytocin evolved to facilitate pair bonding in species that mate for life.
• 🙌 In primates, including humans, oxytocin is associated with trust, generosity, and a sense of connectedness.
• 🐶 Around 20,000-30,000 years ago, humans and dogs co-evolved, and direct eye contact between them can trigger oxytocin release, enhancing their bond.
• 🧠 Oxytocin improves facial expression recognition and can make people more trusting and generous, but it doesn't universally increase pro-social behavior.
• 🚫 Oxytocin's effects are selective, making individuals nicer only to those they perceive as part of their 'in-group', potentially intensifying tribalism.
• 🧪 A study in the Netherlands demonstrated that oxytocin can increase in-group bias, as people were less willing to sacrifice individuals from out-groups in moral dilemmas.
• 🧠 Brain scans reveal that the amygdala, responsible for fear and aggression, activates more readily in response to faces perceived as 'others'.
• 👶 By 10 months old, children begin to differentiate between 'us' and 'them', reflecting deep-seated tribal instincts.
• 🔧 These biases are fast and unconscious, but can be influenced by experiences and environment, showing that they are not entirely fixed.

Q & A

What is the primary function of oxytocin in most species?

Oxytocin is primarily associated with bonding between mothers and infants, facilitating their connection and attachment.

How does the absence of oxytocin affect maternal behavior in lab rats?

If lab rats have their oxytocin genes knocked out, they fail to attach to their newborns, indicating that oxytocin is crucial for maternal recognition and attachment.

What new role did oxytocin acquire around 60 million years ago in certain species?

Oxytocin began to be used in species that form pair bonds and mate for life, helping to maintain these long-term relationships.

How does oxytocin function in primates, including humans?

In primates, oxytocin is associated with trust, generosity, and a sense of connectedness, going beyond its initial role in maternal bonding.

What is the unique adaptation involving oxytocin between humans and dogs?

Over the last 20,000 to 30,000 years, humans and dogs have evolved together, and mutual gazing between a human and a dog can lead to the secretion of oxytocin in both, enhancing their bond.

What does the study on the runaway trolley problem reveal about the influence of oxytocin on moral decision-making?

The study shows that oxytocin does not universally increase pro-social behavior; instead, it intensifies feelings towards those already considered part of 'us,' potentially leading to more hostile behavior towards 'them.'

How does oxytocin affect the perception of people from different cultural backgrounds in the Netherlands study?

Oxytocin makes Dutch participants more likely to sacrifice individuals with German or Muslim names in the runaway trolley scenario, suggesting it amplifies in-group favoritism rather than universal kindness.

What role does the amygdala play in the unconscious perception of 'others'?

The amygdala, associated with fear and aggression, activates automatically in response to faces perceived as belonging to 'other' groups, indicating an unconscious bias.

How does the fusiform cortex contribute to the perception of faces from different social groups?

The fusiform cortex, responsible for face recognition, activates less strongly for faces from 'them' groups, suggesting that these faces are not processed as thoroughly or valued as those from the 'us' group.

What is the function of the anterior singulate in relation to empathy and pain perception?

The anterior singulate is involved in feeling and sharing the pain of others. However, it activates less when observing someone from a different racial or social group experiencing pain, indicating a reduced empathetic response.

How can long-term experiences and exposure to diversity influence the brain's automatic responses to 'us' and 'them'?

Long-term experiences, such as growing up in a racially mixed neighborhood or having relationships with people from different backgrounds, can reduce the automatic activation of areas like the amygdala in response to 'them,' suggesting that these biases are not fixed and can be altered.

Outlines

00:00

🧬 Oxytocin's Evolutionary Role

The paragraph discusses the hormone oxytocin, which has been present for around a hundred million years and is fundamental for bonding between mothers and infants across various species. It details how oxytocin has evolved in usage, from facilitating pair bonding in species that mate for life to fostering trust, generosity, and a sense of connectedness in primates. A fascinating example is the mutual oxytocin secretion between humans and dogs, which strengthens their bond. However, the paragraph also points out that oxytocin's effects are not universally pro-social; it can make individuals more biased towards their in-group, potentially exacerbating 'us versus them' dynamics.

05:00

🔍 Oxytocin's Impact on Social Bias

This section delves into how oxytocin can intensify social biases. It references a study from the Netherlands where oxytocin's influence on moral decision-making was tested using a hypothetical 'runaway trolley' scenario. The study showed that while oxytocin may increase trust and generosity, it does not universally make people nicer; instead, it can make them more biased towards those they already consider part of their in-group. The paragraph highlights how this hormone can strengthen tribalistic tendencies, making individuals more hostile towards out-group members.

10:01

🧠 The Brain's Us vs. Them Dichotomy

The paragraph explores the neurological basis for the 'us versus them' mentality, discussing how the brain quickly categorizes individuals as part of the in-group or out-group. It mentions the amygdala's role in automatically associating out-group members with fear and aggression. The text also describes how the fusiform cortex and anterior cingulate, areas of the brain associated with face recognition and empathy for pain, respectively, can be less active when perceiving out-group members. This automatic bias can manifest from a young age and has implications for social interactions and prejudices.

15:01

🌐 Overcoming Tribalistic Biases

The final paragraph emphasizes the adaptability of human biases and the potential for change. It suggests that long-term experiences, such as growing up in a racially mixed neighborhood or having interracial relationships, can alter the brain's automatic responses to out-group members. The paragraph concludes with a discussion of how symbols, like sports team affiliations, can temporarily override racial biases, indicating that the brain's categorizations are not fixed. It ends with a call to awareness and a reminder of the power of manipulation, especially by those in positions of authority.

Keywords

💡Oxytocin

Oxytocin is a hormone that has been around for approximately a hundred million years and is primarily associated with bonding, particularly between mothers and their infants. In the context of the video, it's highlighted that oxytocin has evolved to facilitate not only maternal bonding but also pair bonding in species that mate for life. Intriguingly, it's noted that humans and dogs have developed a mutual oxytocin response when they bond, which is a relatively recent evolutionary adaptation. The video suggests that oxytocin plays a complex role in social bonding and trust, but its effects are nuanced and can be influenced by existing social biases.

💡Pair bonding

Pair bonding refers to the formation of long-term, monogamous relationships between two individuals, often observed in the animal kingdom. The video script explains that oxytocin, beyond its role in maternal bonding, is also utilized in species that form pair bonds, suggesting that it helps to maintain these lifelong attachments. This concept is used to illustrate the diverse functions of oxytocin across different species and its significance in social behaviors.

💡Primates

Primates are a group of mammals that include humans, apes, and monkeys. In the video, primates are mentioned in the context of their use of oxytocin for trust, generosity, and a sense of connectedness. This highlights the advanced social behaviors and emotional capacities of primates, which are facilitated by the hormone oxytocin. The script uses primates as an example to show how certain hormones can influence complex social interactions.

💡Dogs

Dogs are mentioned in the script as having co-evolved with humans, particularly in the context of oxytocin secretion. The video explains that when humans and dogs form close bonds, they both secrete oxytocin, which strengthens their connection. This mutual hormonal response is an example of how humans have developed unique social bonds with certain animals, possibly as a result of our shared history and domestication.

💡Pro-social behavior

Pro-social behavior encompasses actions that are intended to benefit others, such as cooperation, sharing, and altruism. The video script challenges the assumption that oxytocin universally promotes pro-social behavior. Instead, it suggests that oxytocin may increase trust and generosity specifically towards those who are already considered part of one's 'in-group,' potentially exacerbating biases against 'out-group' members.

💡Tribes and tribalism

Tribes and tribalism refer to the social structures and behaviors associated with groups of people who share a common identity, often based on factors like ethnicity, culture, or beliefs. The video script uses the concept of tribalism to explain how our brains quickly categorize others as 'us' or 'them,' which can influence our attitudes and behaviors towards them. This tribal instinct is discussed as a deep-seated aspect of human psychology that can be both beneficial and problematic in modern society.

💡Amygdala

The amygdala is an almond-shaped part of the brain involved in processing emotions, particularly those related to fear and aggression. In the video, it's mentioned that the amygdala activates when people perceive faces associated with 'out-groups,' which can lead to increased fear and aggression. This neural response is part of the automatic, unconscious processes that contribute to our tribalistic tendencies.

💡Anterior singulate

The anterior singulate is a region of the brain involved in processing pain and empathy. The video script describes how this area may not activate as strongly when people observe pain in individuals from different racial or ethnic backgrounds, suggesting a reduced capacity for empathy towards those perceived as 'others.' This concept is used to illustrate the neurological basis for biases and prejudice.

💡Fusiform cortex

The fusiform cortex is a part of the brain that plays a crucial role in face recognition. According to the video, this area may not activate as strongly when recognizing faces from 'out-groups,' potentially leading to a diminished ability to remember or empathize with those individuals. This concept is used to show how our brains can process information differently based on perceived group membership.

💡Heuristics

Heuristics are mental shortcuts or rules that people use to make quick judgments or decisions. In the video, heuristics are discussed in the context of how they can lead to stereotypes and prejudices, as people may make rapid assessments about others based on superficial characteristics. The video suggests that while heuristics can be efficient, they can also result in biased and unfair judgments.

Highlights

Oxytocin is a hormone that has been around for over 100 million years and plays a role in bonding between mothers and infants across species.

Around 60 million years ago, oxytocin adapted to help species that pair bond, such as those that mate for life.

In primates, oxytocin is also associated with trust, generosity, and a sense of connectedness.

Oxytocin has evolved further in the last 20,000 years to also facilitate bonding between humans and dogs, causing both to secrete oxytocin when they interact closely.

Oxytocin strengthens tribal or in-group bonds but doesn’t necessarily make people more pro-social toward outsiders.

A study in the Netherlands showed that oxytocin made participants more likely to sacrifice someone from an out-group, like Germans or Muslims, rather than someone from their own culture, in moral dilemma scenarios.

Oxytocin reinforces existing biases, making people more empathetic and generous to those they consider part of their 'in-group' while increasing hostility toward 'out-groups.'

The brain's amygdala activates unconsciously when people see the face of an 'other,' contributing to fear and aggression.

Even as early as 10 months old, children begin showing in-group and out-group biases.

The fusiform cortex, responsible for facial recognition, activates less when viewing faces from an out-group, making those faces less memorable.

The anterior cingulate cortex, involved in empathy and pain perception, shows reduced activity when people witness pain experienced by someone from an out-group.

In the U.S., police officers are more likely to mistake a cell phone for a gun if the person holding it has a different skin color, highlighting unconscious bias.

Long-term exposure to different races or cultures, such as growing up in a mixed neighborhood, can reduce the amygdala's automatic fear response to out-group members.

Sports team loyalty can override racial or ethnic biases in brain activation, with fans showing more immediate emotional responses based on team affiliation rather than skin color.

Manipulating in-group and out-group boundaries is a powerful tool for dictators, who use this to dehumanize opponents and justify violence.

Transcripts

again like we're such a weird species so

there's this hormone

oxytocin and best bet is it's been

around for a hundred million years and

what it is about in every species out

there it has something to do with

mothers and infants bonding with each

other connecting with each other and you

could even show it like with Lab Rats if

you knock out genes that you need to

generate oxytocin mothers don't attach

to their newborn rat PFF they don't

recognize and things of that sort so

that's great and then I don't know 60

million years ago uh folks came up with

a new use of oxytocin it's used in

species that pair bonds that mate for

life and it's oxytocin that keeps them

together and then you get the primates

and we're using it for trust and

generosity and a sense of connectedness

and all of that which is totally cool

and then then the most bizarre thing

imaginable is like I don't know 20,000

30,000 years ago people and dogs kind of

evolved with each other so they hang out

with each other now and like we we give

our food away to these wolves and and

spend our time and love him and all that

and in the last 20,000 years it's

evolved that if you have a dog and

you're really close with them and you're

sitting there looking in his eyes and

feeling his dog soul and all of that you

secrete oxytocin and he secretes

oxytocin it's a 100 million year old

hormone and if the scientists either

give you oxytocin or give the dog you

stare in each other's eyes

longer it's like what a crazy adaptation

you know 20,000 years ago no doubt they

had some sort of meeting saying these

these wolf things that were getting kind

of attached to what are we what are we

going to do should we evolve a new

hormone in the brain nah let's use oxy

oxytocin it's like you like your kids

oxytocin you like the person you're

married to oxy sure you sit there with

your dog and you'll both secrete

oxytocin that makes you more connected

um here's a really interesting thing

though about

oxytocin

like with like tells you something about

the the

geopolitical world okay so oxytocin it

makes you nice it makes you more

trusting it makes you more generous you

get better at reading facial expressions

you like if everybody was given oxytocin

more of it this would be a totally

Wonderful World until you look a little

more closely and oxytocin does not make

you more pro-social does not make you

nicer to your fellow humans it makes you

nicer to only some fellow humans and

this was this spectacular study there's

there's this philosophy problem The

Runaway rly a a train has broken from

its tracks it's out of control it's

going to hit and kill five people is it

okay to push one innocent person on the

track to they get killed but you save

five other people can you kill and like

philosophers have been dealing with this

one forever so what they did this was in

Netherlands and some psychology student

volunteers and they gave him a version

of this runaway trolley problem would

you sacrifice this person to save that

person's life and what you see is

psychologically do you press a button

70% of people say yes I would I would

kill this one innocent person to save

those F do you push him with your hands

on the

track only about 40% of people say

they'd be willing to do that does the

person fight back before you push him on

the track only about 20% so it's the

exact same situation but people give

very different answers because the

emotional stuff so they introdu the

motion in a very interesting way in here

so here's this person do you you kill

him to save five other people and they

gave a name they gave a name to the

person and in a third of the cases they

gave the name of like some typical

person from the Netherlands Dirk or

Peter or something like that and the

rest of the time uh they gave the person

a name from one of two cultures that

people the Netherlands have strong

unconscious hostility towards either

German names from World War II or Muslim

names so sort of the the European frenzy

about that you're sitting there now and

like you ask somebody well you g to save

Dirk's life and the next person you g to

save Wulf gang's life or you g to save

ahmad's life or what and you know it

doesn't have much effect give people

oxytocin and they don't know it and what

you see is all these people from the

Netherlands nobody's willing to push

Dirk onto the track it's a fellow

countrymen of course not I couldn't do

that but oh my God Otto and and Muhammad

you are GNA push them on the track in a

second or so whoa oxytocin doesn't make

you nicer it makes you nicer to people

who already count as in us if it's a

them you're much worse to them you're

more hostile to them you're more

aggressive you're more likely to cheat

in a game against them oxytocin isn't

about good feelings it's about making

your tribal connectiveness stronger and

whoa is that an interesting different

way for a hormone to be

working wow and and so it's a it's

amplifying already uh the the tribalism

uh intuitions or preset behavior that

that we have deep in us exactly which

means that in our brains there is this

split in there like as big as like the

split between continents or other that

our brains make really fast and

unconsciously and all of that between is

this person one of us or are they not

and really quickly generating that and

if it's one of us you like them more and

you'll sacrifice yourself for them more

and you think they're better humans and

when they do something awful it's oh

they're just tired they're stressed

whereas if it's one of them that does

something awful it's what can I say this

is what they're like they've always been

this way they'll always be this way and

wow our brains have a split line in

there by the time kids are 10 months old

they're already beginning to do this and

when you show somebody a face you put

them in a brain

scanner and you're flashing up faces and

you flash up the face of one of those

others one of those others that you know

and a part of the brain having to do

with fear and aggression part of the

brain called the amydala

activates automatically in about 75% of

people you see the face of an other and

the Amala activates okay because you

know that everyone in your society says

they're rotten people because they do

this and they believe that or you read

the news no this is not you sit there

and you've learned some of these

prejudices this is the amydala does this

automatically in under one tenth of a

second you do not even consciously know

yet who you're looking at and already

this part of the brain that's about

worrying and aggression and maybe I

should do something preemptive and

there's these amazing studies now I I

don't know uh how much this is the case

in Morocco in terms of some us them

things but a gigantic problem in the

United States is you have a police

officer um who in this case is white and

there's some person who may or may not

be a criminal who happens to have dark

skin and over and over again we get

these situations where the person is

holding a cell phone and the police

decide that's a gun and before you know

it you've shot them that kind of thing

and you do these studies you put police

in brain scanners and like if the person

has a skin color different from yours

you're more likely to mistake a cell

phone for a handgun you're more likely

and again in a tenth of the second um so

these are images flashing in a in a

screen and the the person is is is an

MRI scanner ex experiment exactly

they're they're beautiful done and they

get even worse at that point there's a

there's a part of the brain called the

fusiform cortex which primates evolved

what does it do it recognizes faces if

you're a primate you got to pay

attention to who's who in your social

world and we can do that with hundreds

of faces and this is a part of the brain

that does that and you see somebody's

face and your Fus of form activates in a

tenth of a second if it's the face of

somebody from a them group your Fus form

doesn't activate as much their face

doesn't count as much as a face you

don't remember it afterward as

accurately and then there's a part of

the brain called the anterior singulate

which has to do with pain and feeling

somebody's pain like poke your hand with

a with a pin and your anterior singulate

activates in the tenth of a second you

have to sit there and watch someone you

love have their hand Pok with a pin and

your anterior singulate activates it's

about empathy it's about feeling

somebody else's pain so stick people in

a brain scanner and they're looking at a

little film there of a hand having a

needle poked into it and when the needle

goes in oh my God everybody their

interior singulate because they're

imagining how much this hurts and all of

that if the hand has a different skin

color than your

own the anterior singul it doesn't

activate as much so it depends whose

face whose pain whose skin color all of

that whoa we are we are as tribal as

baboons but we just have it show up in

really different ways than your average

other primate out there so this must

have had the Adaptive advantages in the

for for our ancestors I I suppose this

US versus them right there's a reason

why why you have that sure and it's you

know the

psychologists have this term for it a

heuristic it's a rule that you have in

your head which you apply automatically

really fast because it's efficient it

makes things easier o if something is

rustling in the bushes there um assume

it's a buffalo and you're in trouble o

if just very rapid assessments and

sometimes that's great sometimes it's

life-saving or it it saves you a lot of

time trying to figure out okay is this

person competent or not and should I

give the job and and you know they they

just said a word with an educated tone

of voice or something like that and

you're heris yeah okay so I've just jump

to an assumption another way of saying

that is this is how your brain has

stereotypes and prejudices where you

prejudge somebody because sometimes

appearance or things like that or you

know the amazing thing is you look at a

man with his head covered and the way

it's covered you know who you think

should be controlling access to Temple

of the mount in

Jerusalem because all you got to do is

look at the guy's hat and you know where

he's coming from all you have to do is

you you look at a human who's wearing a

cowboy hat or they're wearing a sari and

you already know do they think cows are

good to eat or cows are good to worship

whoa just these little symbols of stuff

and it's efficient it saves you time

until it turns out that you're being

Prejudice and like you're judging

somebody in a tenth of a second by stuff

like skin color and like all these other

signals here or what kind of accent or

what foods they eat and thus what their

body smells like and like all of that

stuff and yeah it's just automatic

because it could be very efficient to do

that and it could be a total disaster um

so it has yes sorry go ahead yeah no no

no go ahead no I it has been adapted to

us when back in the times through the

millions or or hundreds of thousands of

years where we were living in a

completely different uh uh lifestyle but

today in today's world things have

changed and uh what what do we do with

this should should we be more aware of

our biases yeah oh completely um the one

good thing with that is I think I said

you know in the United States you take

white volunteers and you stick them with

the brain scanner and like you show them

the face of an African-American man and

like 75% of people their their amigdalas

will activate

you say oh my God that's the most

depressing thing I've ever heard of this

is hopeless all then you say hey what

what's up with the 25% of people where

that doesn't happen and you check out

their histories and they grew up in a

neighborhood that was racially mixed

they had a romantic relationship with

somebody of A different race at some

point or other like that okay it's a

good longterm experience could change

stuff like that but even better this is

like the greatest like study on

Earth you put a person in the brain

scanner and they're a crazy football fan

like they have their home team that they

hate and they've got the the enemy team

who are who are sleeping with Satan as

far as they're concerned and and all of

that so now you're flashing up pictures

of different faces and each one is

wearing a cap with the logo of either

your football team were theirs the other

side and your brain doesn't care anymore

about their skin color all it cares

about is which symbol they're harrying

there and in a tenth of a second they

flash up a face wearing the symbol of

the other and five minutes ago you were

doing the same study and if the skin

color was different it activated and now

boom all it takes is something like that

and it's a

completely whoa so totally depressing we

break the world into us and them but

either very good news or very bad news

it's easy to manipulate us is to who

counts as an us or a them and sometimes

we could be manipulated in a

second and you know every good dictator

what they know how to do is how to make

the thems that everybody hates seem so

different and so that they hardly even

count as human they're like they're like

Vermin they're like Oar roaches they're

like rodents they're like cancers

they're all of that that they're so

different that like you look at their

face and your brain doesn't process it

as a face anymore and you do that and

you're a dictator who has a whole bunch

of people who are happy to go out and

kill them because they don't even count

as the same species as you it's uh it's

a very effective thing if you enjoyed

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