I guess I’m not the only one who suspects that Republican support for Donald Trump smacks of sociopathic alignment.  A new study with well stated replication protocols is underway to determine the impacts of oxytocin on political preferences.

The study whose caption is “Oxytocin and the Biological Basis for Interpersonal and Political Trust,” is currently being spearheaded by Citizen Science Belleville. The organization  was formed to replicate studies of experiments to improve health, relationships or the well being of future generations. They focus on studies they deem important so that there’s a more significant and broader basis from which to base conclusions. Often, initial studies take place with limited participation and are faulted for having skewed results. Citizen Science Belleville sets high standards to replicate the original trial and their findings can either lend credibility, or not, to the original findings.

So far, the study of political behavior found that intranasal administration of 40 IU of oxytocin significantly increases trust in the government for Democrats, but not for Republicans. Based on those findings, the current Presidential race seems to split down morality lines with morally intact folks, those who respond to oxytocin, identifying as Democrats, and those who do not respond to oxytocin identifying as Republicans.

The original study was conducted by Merolla, J. L., Burnett, G., Pyle, K. V., Ahmadi, S., & Zak, P. J. (2013). Here’s the link: Oxytocin and the biological basis for interpersonal and political trust. Political Behavior, 35(4), 753-776.