The Effects of Oxytocin on Fairness Perception and Related Prosocial Behaviors

What Was Tested

In this not phased trial, researchers set out to test Oxytocin.

It had two arms (groups): oxytocin group (experimental) and placebo group (placebo comparator).

Male and female subjects with oxytocin treatment.

Male and female subjects with placebo treatment.

The registry classes the interventions as drug.

More on the Plan

Fairness preference is a cornerstone of human sociality, often driving individuals to incur personal costs in order to uphold fairness norms.

Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide, is considered a potential modulator of prosocial behavior, yet its specific mechanism of action in fairness decision-making remains unclear.

Previous research has predominantly focused on the overall effects of OT on behaviors, without differentiating its roles across distinct processing stages such as cognitive evaluation and emotional anticipation.

Furthermore, there is a lack of systematic investigation into whether its effects are modulated by social context and gain-loss contexts.

Who Took Part

The registry lists 80 planned participants were the target.

It was open to people of any sex aged from 18 years up to 35 years.

Healthy volunteers could join, not only people with the condition.

Examples of who could join: Healthy subjects without past or current psychiatric or neurological disorders.

The full record lists 1 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria; among the exclusions: history of head injury; pregnant, menstruating, taking oral contraceptives; medical or psychiatric illness; the presence of metal in the body or claustrophobia.

How the Study Was Run

Design: randomized, parallel-group and double-blind.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Oxytocin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

The Oxytocin group and the comparison group ran side by side rather than switching.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Oxytocin.

Those kept unaware of assignments: participant and investigator.

It started in 2026-09-05 with completion listed for 2026-12-30.

It ran at 1 site in China.

Its stated primary purpose is basic science.

What Was Measured

The main thing measured (primary outcome): Fairness rating scores (time frame: 1 hour). Anticipated guilt rating scores (time frame: 1 hour). The binary decision to the initial allocation (time frame: 1 hour).

It also tracked 1 secondary outcome, for example Inequity aversion parameters derived from the Fehr-Schmidt model.

What This Means in Plain Language

Put simply, this is a not phased, randomized trial of Oxytocin in 80 people.

It is still recruiting; no results are posted to the registry yet, so nothing here describes outcomes.

More context: the Oxytocin compound page, all human trials.