The Importance Of Trust: Oxytocin And Trust

1883 Words4 Pages

Oxytocin and Trust
Tyler Shields
New York University

The fundamental ability to form relationships with attachment involved, is truly indispensable in terms of forming and having proper human social relationships. One emotion that is extremely important to have in order to take part of these important types of relationships include: trust. Trust is extremely important for various reasons. It is “truly indispensable” in friendship, love, families and organizations. Trust- which pervades human societies, plays a key role in important endeavors in various dimensions of life; these dimensions include economic exchange as well as certain parts of politics. The need for trust in these examples along with others are crucial for various reasons; which include the issues that come with exhibiting lack of trust in particular situations. For example: in absence of trust among trading partners, market transaction will be much more likely to breakdown. In the absence of trust in a country’s institution and leader relationships, political legitimacy is also much more likely to break down. (Kosfeld, 2005) Research has indicated that trust plays a major roll in economic, political, and social types of success.
Although, the dimension of trust impacts societal behavior in many ways, it is important to explore the biological basis of this emotion in order to gain a meaningful understanding.
There is actually a “moral molecule” as Paul Zak would call it. The “moral molecule” is –Oxytocin. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide, has been found to mediate trust, along with various other social emotions.
Neuropeptides are small molecules that help neurons communicate with one another. They represent the lar...

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