Oxytocin Can Change Men’s Generosity Depending on Childhood Experience

A new study found oxytocin increased generosity in men with more childhood adversity but reduced it in men with fewer difficult childhood experiences.

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A 2026 study examined whether childhood experiences change how oxytocin affects altruistic behavior. Researchers gave 54 healthy young adult men either intranasal oxytocin or a placebo, then asked them to decide how much money to donate to strangers in need while undergoing brain scans. The striking result was that the hormone did not affect everyone in the same direction. Among men with higher levels of childhood adversity, oxytocin increased donations compared with placebo. Among men with lower levels of childhood adversity, oxytocin reduced donations. In the placebo group, men with lower childhood adversity donated substantially more on average than those with higher adversity. The researchers also observed changes in brain connectivity involving areas linked with social evaluation and empathy. The findings suggest that oxytocin is not simply a universal generosity switch. Its effects may depend on a person’s developmental history and the social context. The study was relatively small, included only healthy young men, and used a controlled donation task rather than everyday charitable behavior, so the results need to be tested in larger and more diverse groups before broader conclusions can be drawn.

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