Synchrony is stronger than the 'trust hormone': research by HSE and Krasnoyarsk Medical University
Researchers from the Laboratory for Social and Cognitive Informatics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics — Saint Petersburg, together with colleagues from Krasnoyarsk Medical University, have completed one of the stages of a large-scale project studying the mechanisms of human communication. The results of the work have been published in the prestigious journal Hormones and Behavior.
Scientists from the National Research University Higher School of Economics — Saint Petersburg, together with Krasnoyarsk Medical University, conducted a study on the role of oxytocin in interpersonal interaction. The main finding of the study was the identification of significant methodological problems in this scientific field and the need to revise approaches to studying the "trust hormone." The results were published in the journal Hormones and Behavior.
The team tested the hypothesis that oxytocin levels increase during synchronous interaction between people. Experts investigated why face-to-face communication is perceived as higher quality compared to remote communication.
Elina Tsigeman-Gorenko
Junior Research Fellow, Laboratory for Social and Cognitive INformatics, HSE University - St.Petersburgрг
"We adapt to the speed of our interlocutor's speech, start using similar vocabulary, and mimic their movements. Even heart rhythm and breathing can synchronize. In video conferences, this synchrony is disrupted due to connection delays. Even a small lag of 200 milliseconds is critical for the brain — it already perceives the interlocutor as less 'real,'" explains Elina Tsigeman-Gorenko, Junior Research Fellow at the Laboratory for Social and Cognitive Informatics, HSE University — Saint Petersburg.
In the first experiment, participants interacted with a stranger. One group mimicked the stranger's movements (synchronous interaction), while the other group deliberately made different gestures (asynchronous interaction). The interaction lasted only five minutes, and saliva samples for oxytocin analysis were taken before and after the task. In the second experiment, familiar people from the same team participated. They performed the same task, but saliva was collected three times: before the interaction, immediately after, and ten minutes later.
As a result, the scientists did not observe the expected increase in oxytocin during synchronous interaction. At the same time, participants rated asynchronous actions as more complex and stressful. In other words, comfort and cognitive ease in communication are associated with coordinated behavior, rather than the expected 'hormonal spike of trust'.
"The study demonstrated methodological problems in the field of research on hormonal markers of social interaction: there are still no strict data collection procedures. Previous works describe experiments in insufficient detail, which creates reproducibility issues," the scientists note.
The project continues with new, more rigorous protocols to study the hormonal mechanisms of communication. A large-scale experiment has been conducted, comparing the 'oxytocin response' during face-to-face interaction and video communication. Its results are currently being analyzed, but preliminary findings already suggest that the online mode affects many communication indicators, while changes in oxytocin levels are a complex matter. Therefore, plans are underway to expand the analysis to include cortisol and vasopressin. 'Hormones do not act in isolation. It is possible that the role of oxytocin in social tasks is overestimated,' explains the researcher.
The work was carried out within the framework of the 'Mirror Laboratories' project between HSE University — Saint Petersburg and Krasnoyarsk State Medical University named after Professor V. F. Voyno-Yasenetsky.
Olessia Koltsova
Head of the Laboratory for Social and Cognitive Informatics, HSE University - St.Petersburg
"It was a very complex and meticulous work in an interdisciplinary team. It allowed us — sociologists and psychologists — to understand the biological foundations of human communication in order to better predict it in the future. And, perhaps, to move beyond some simplified clichés, like 'Oxytocin is the attachment hormone' or 'Cortisol is the stress hormone,'" summarized Olessia Koltsova, head of the Laboratory for Social and Cognitive Informatics at HSE University — Saint Petersburg.