Search

Abstract Genetic variation in CD38—a putative oxytocin pathway gene—has been linked to higher oxytocin levels, empathy, and sensitive parenting, but also to more negative interpersonal outcomes (e.g., alienation from friends and family, poorer romantic relationship quality). To reconcile these seemingly contradictory findings, we drew upon the idea that CD38 variation may heighten social-emotional sensitivity and, consequently, make individuals prone to negative emotions in distressing interpersonal situations. To test this hypothesis, we performed a secondary analysis of a dataset including participants’ (n = 171; 94 females) empathic concern (“sympathetic”) and distress-related (“anxious”) responses to an emotional video. Distress responses were higher for the CD38 rs3796863 AA/AC group vs. the CC group (p = 0.03, η2 = 0.027); however, there was no significant effect of genotype for empathic concern responses to the video or for indices of trait empathy. These findings provide preliminary evidence that, in the face of an interpersonal stressor, CD38 genetic variation may predict more self-focused, aversive emotional reactions. More broadly, this finding highlights the need to adopt a more nuanced perspective in which the influence of oxytocin system variation (assessed by oxytocin-related genetic variation) should be considered in light of the social context.

Despite being bio-epidemiological phenomena, the causes and effects of pandemics are culturally influenced in ways that go beyond national boundaries. However, they are often studied in isolated pockets, and this fact makes it difficult to parse the unique influence of specific cultural psychologies. To help fill in this gap, the present study applies existing cultural theories via linear mixed modeling to test the influence of unique cultural factors in a multi-national sample (that moves beyond Western nations) on the effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on pandemic outcomes that include adverse financial impacts, adverse resource impacts, adverse psychological impacts, and the health impacts of COVID. Our study spanned 19 nations (participant N = 14,133) and involved translations into 9 languages. Linear mixed models revealed similarities across cultures, with both young persons and women reporting worse outcomes from COVID across the multi-national sample. However, these effects were generally qualified by culture-specific variance, and overall more evidence emerged for effects unique to each culture than effects similar across cultures. Follow-up analyses suggested this cultural variability was consistent with models of pre-existing inequalities and socioecological stressors exacerbating the effects of the pandemic. Collectively, this evidence highlights the importance of developing culturally flexible models for understanding the cross-cultural nature of pandemic psychology beyond typical WEIRD approaches.

Abstract Although there are numerous benefits to having a satisfying romantic relationship, maintaining high levels of relationship satisfaction is difficult. Many couples experience declines in relationship satisfaction in the early years of marriage, and such declines predict not only relationship dissolution but also poor mental and physical health. Several recent studies indicate that genetic variation on the CD38 gene (CD38), at the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3796863, is associated with cognitions and behaviors related to pair bonding; we thus leveraged longitudinal data from a sample of newlywed couples (N = 139 genotyped individuals; 71 couples) to examine whether rs3796863 is associated with relationship maintenance processes and, in turn, relationship satisfaction in the early years of marriage. Replicating and extending prior research, we found that individuals with the CC genotype (vs. AC/AA) of rs3796863 reported higher levels of gratitude, trust, and forgiveness and that trust mediated the association between rs3796863 and marital satisfaction. Moreover, the benefits conferred to CC individuals lasted over the first 3 years of marriage. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the link between variation in CD38 rs3796863 and marital functioning over time.

Background : Accumulating research indicates that oxytocin (OT) plays a key role in human social cognition and behavior. Inspection of the data, however, suggests that the social effects of OT often depend on contextual factors, including person characteristics. For example, some studies show that OT is helpful for avoidantly attached individuals, who are less socially engaged, whereas other studies show that OT exacerbates chronic interpersonal insecurities in anxiously attached individuals, who are preoccupied with closeness. Such variability raises questions about the mechanism by which OT influences human social behavior. Drawing upon animal research on OT and the other-directed (e.g., maternal) behavior, we propose that OT induces a similar shift in focus away from self and toward others in humans. This theory would explain some of the person-specific effects of OT since becoming more other- and less self-oriented should be helpful for avoidant individuals who are excessively focused on the self to the exclusion of others, but could be hurtful for anxious individuals who are already overly other focused and have no sense of self. Methods : Thirty-one males received 24 IU intranasal OT/placebo in a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial and then completed tasks assessing the implicit cognitive accessibility and explicit self perceptions of agency (self orientation) and communion (other orientation). Individual differences in attachment were assessed at baseline. Results : OT significantly decreased the cognitive accessibility of agency (self) and increased the cognitive accessibility of communion (other). Similarly, OT significantly decreased the endorsement of agency traits (arrogant) and increased the endorsement of communal traits (kind, warm, caring). Critically, this OT-induced shift from self to other differentially affected avoidant and anxiously attached participants, with avoidant individuals, who are generally low in communion, showing the largest increase in communion following OT, but anxious individuals, who are generally low in agency, showing even further reduction in agency/sense of self. Conclusions : These data shed light on the variability in extant research on the social effects of oxytocin in humans and help explain both the beneficial and potentially harmful effects of OT.