Zheng Xiaoxiao, Xu Xiaolei, Xu Lei, Kou Juan, Luo Lizhu, Ma Xiaole, Kendrick Keith M
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
The School of Educational Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
J Psychopharmacol. 2021 Jun;35(6):668-680. doi: 10.1177/0269881121991576. Epub 2021 Feb 18.
While romantic jealousy may help to maintain relationships, following partner infidelity and an irretrievable loss of trust it can also promote break-ups. The neuropeptide oxytocin can enhance the maintenance of social bonds and reduce couple conflict, although its influence on jealousy evoked by imagined or real infidelity is unclear.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) on romantic jealousy in both males and females in imagined and real contexts.
Seventy heterosexual couples participated in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subject design study. Jealousy was firstly quantified in the context of subjects imagining partner infidelity and secondly in a Cyberball game where their partner interacted preferentially with an opposite-sexed rival stranger to simulate partner exclusion, or rejected a neutral stranger but not the partner.
Oxytocin primarily decreased jealousy and arousal ratings towards imagined emotional and sexual infidelity by a partner in both sexes. During the Cyberball game, while male and female subjects in both groups subsequently threw the ball least often to the rival stranger, under oxytocin they showed reduced romantic jealousy and arousal ratings for stranger players, particularly the rival one, and reported reduced negative and increased positive feelings while playing the game.
Together, our results suggest that oxytocin can reduce the negative emotional impact of jealousy in established romantic partners evoked by imagined or real infidelity or exclusive social interactions with others. This provides further support for oxytocin promoting maintenance of relationships.
虽然浪漫嫉妒可能有助于维持恋爱关系，但在伴侣不忠以及信任无法挽回地丧失之后，它也可能促使关系破裂。神经肽催产素可以增强社会关系的维持并减少情侣间的冲突，不过其对由想象或真实不忠引发的嫉妒的影响尚不清楚。
本研究旨在调查鼻内给予催产素（24国际单位）在想象情境和真实情境中对男性和女性浪漫嫉妒的影响。
70对异性恋情侣参与了这项双盲、安慰剂对照、组间设计研究。嫉妒首先在受试者想象伴侣不忠的情境中进行量化，其次在一个网络投球游戏中进行量化，在该游戏中他们的伴侣优先与一名异性竞争对手陌生人互动以模拟伴侣排斥，或者拒绝一名中性陌生人但不拒绝伴侣。
催产素主要降低了两性对伴侣想象中的情感和性不忠的嫉妒及唤醒评分。在网络投球游戏中，虽然两组的男性和女性受试者随后向竞争对手陌生人投球的频率最低，但在催产素作用下，他们对陌生玩家，尤其是竞争对手的浪漫嫉妒和唤醒评分降低，并报告在游戏过程中负面情绪减少、积极情绪增加。
总体而言，我们的结果表明，催产素可以减轻已确立恋爱关系的伴侣中由想象或真实不忠或与他人的排他性社交互动引发的嫉妒的负面情绪影响。这为催产素促进恋爱关系的维持提供了进一步的支持。
