Oxytocin

June 2, 2005 1:44 PM

The whiff of trust. "The possibility of reconciliation between individuals and the potential of healing rifts between political groups, even nations have arrived. " And the possible repercussions strain the imagination.
posted by semmi (12 comments total)

It's interesting, but bad enough that pheromones are already sprayed in some environments for psychological and emotional reactions--hormones would be a problem.
posted by amberglow at 2:22 PM on June 2, 2005

I smell bullshit.
posted by tkchrist at 2:27 PM on June 2, 2005

I smell... whatever you tell me I'm smelling.
posted by odinsdream at 3:20 PM on June 2, 2005

I smell NPR.

Be safe. Trust no one.
posted by mrgrimm at 3:28 PM on June 2, 2005

Freaky. Shades of Brave New World.
posted by Specklet at 3:36 PM on June 2, 2005

Lends a whole new meaning to "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!"
posted by briank at 4:47 PM on June 2, 2005

Lends a whole new meaning to "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!"

That's brilliant, and I don't know why.
posted by Sticherbeast at 4:58 PM on June 2, 2005

I wonder if this would work on strippers?
posted by UseyurBrain at 7:03 PM on June 2, 2005

Seems ironic to me that those who would use this hormone to gain our trust are those who would be least deserving of it?
posted by symbioid at 7:43 PM on June 2, 2005

Not ironic, symbioid: if someone deserves our trust, they're less likely to need artificial help in gaining it.
posted by hattifattener at 8:39 PM on June 2, 2005

Oxytocin seems to have gained more public eye in the last couple of years. I first read about it in the book Nature Via Nurture by Matt Ridley (great book), and have since seen it in other places, including Steven Johnson's Mind Wide Open. It is one of a set of hormones studied for its monogamy-inducing properties, popularly expressed in the results of experiments involving prairie voles. This is amusing also: The Genetic of True Love.
posted by ginbiafra at 10:05 PM on June 2, 2005

Genetics
posted by ginbiafra at 10:06 PM on June 2, 2005