Oxytocin: the hype hormone

ByEd Yong
July 16, 2012
2 min read

The Guardian has run a woeful

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interview about oxytocinrun a woeful

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interview about oxytocin
run a woeful

ad

interview about oxytocin
, featuring Paul Zak who has a book to sell about the topic. This follows on from their woeful

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interview about oxytocin last August
woeful

ad

interview about oxytocin last August
woeful

ad

interview about oxytocin last August
, featuring Paul Zak who has a book to sell about the topic. (In the middle, there was a decent piece by Gareth Leng, who does not have a book to sell about the topic – a momentary lapse, I’m sure.)

You may have heard of oxytocin as the “moral molecule” or the “hug hormone” or the “cuddle chemical”. Unleashed by hugs, available in a handy nasal spray, and possessed with the ability to boost trust, empathy and a laundry list of virtues, it is apparently the cure to all the world’s social ills.

Except it’s not.

As per usual, it’s a little more complicated than that. I had a bit of a rant about oxytocin hype this morning on Twitter, which Rachel Feltman kindly collected into a Storify. It’s below, or you can search for the hashtag #schmoxytocin. Alternatively, a link to the actual page on Storify.

Also, here’s a link to my New Scientist feature about oxytocin (PDF) where I talk about why it’s much more than a simple “hug hormone” and why hype about oxytocins has the potential to do some real damage to vulnerable people.


[View the story “#Schmoxytocin with Ed Yong ” on Storify]

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