Crockett et al. (2010) Serotonin and Prosocial behaviour- citalopram (SSRI)- agonist

Aim

Aim

To investigate the effect of serotonin on prosocial behaviour,

participants

30 healthy volunteers

method

experiment; repeated measures design. The design was counter balanced and double blind.

procedure

in condition 1 participants were given a dose of citalopram ( a SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor)). In condition 2 they were given a placebo.

Participants were given moral dillemes based on the trolley problem. There is a runaway trolley moving along the tracks and you see that it is about to hit a kill 5 people; you have the choice between doing nothing and interfering.

In impersonal scenarios interfering implied pulling a lever that diverts the trolley onto another track where it kills one person. In personal scenarios interfering implied pusing a man on the tracks, so that the man’s body will slow down the trolley and prevent it from hitting the 5 workers.

in both scenarios the choice is killing one person or letting 5 die, but in the personal scenario killing is a more direct and emotionally aversive act.

results

In the impersonal scenario participants responses were unaffected by the citalopram. In the personal scenario citalopram made the participants less likely to interfere (that is, less likely to push the man of the bridge)

Conclusion

citalopram reduces the acceptability of personal harm and in this sense promotes prosocial behaviour. Increased serotonin levels (in the citalopram group) in the brain may cause people to be more opposed to the idea of inflicting harm in someone.

This is is likely because raised levels of serotonin qill act in society in ways to prevent others from coming to harm.

Evaluation

Generalisability- then sample of 30 participants is quite low. Given that this group was also divided into 2, the number of participants is very low.
- the participants were all from cambridge in the UK (reduces cultural validity)
Reliability- the study used questionnaires and a set method of testing for easy replicability. The study used scientific measures (medication and data analysis)
Application to life- understanding that high serotonin levels can affect prosocial behaviour could allow programmes to be designed that would naturally increase serotonin levels eg; through diet and exercise.
Ethics- thje participants physical state was altered during the experiment. However the procedure took place in a medical establishment and was conducted by medical staff to ensure participant safety.
Citalopram causes nausea which may indicate which group the participants are in.

Link: inhibitory neurotransmitter

Crockett et al (2010) investigates the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin in altering both moral judgment and behavior. ​The study used a serotonin agonist, citalopram, to directly alter subjects' aversion to personally harming others, thus influencing their moral decision-making and prosocial behavior. This demonstrates a direct connection between the study and the inhibitory neurotransmitter serotonin. The findings suggest that serotonin may selectively influence moral judgment and behavior in personal scenarios, indicating the significance of inhibitory neurotransmitters in shaping human decision-making processes and social behavior.

Link: neurotransmitter and agonist

Crockett et al. (2010) investigated the role of serotonin on prosocial behavior by using citalopram, a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). The main finding of their study was that participants who received citalopram showed an increase in prosocial behavior, such as condemning harmful actions, compared to those who received a placebo. This suggests that citalopram, by increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain, may function as a serotonin agonist, enhancing the effects of serotonin and promoting prosocial behavior. ​Therefore, the findings of Crockett et al. (2010) directly connect to the neurotransmitter serotonin, indicating that it plays a crucial role in promoting prosocial behavior.

Link: inhibitory neurons

While the study did not directly investigate inhibitory neurons, it is important to note that serotonin is primarily synthesized and released by inhibitory neurons in the brainstem. The findings of Crockett et al. (2010) suggest that inhibitory neurons, through their regulation of serotonin, can significantly impact human behavior, particularly in the context of social interactions and prosocial tendencies.