Weird "love" hormone makes you hate THEM - Robert Sapolsky

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Full interview:    • Robert Sapolsky: Palestine, Tribalism...  

In this thought-provoking podcast excerpt, renowned neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky delves into the fascinating world of human behavior, focusing on the hormone oxytocin and its role in tribalism. Sapolsky explains how oxytocin, originally evolved for mother-infant bonding, has been repurposed throughout evolution to facilitate various forms of social connection - including, surprisingly, the bond between humans and dogs.

The discussion takes an intriguing turn as Sapolsky reveals the darker side of oxytocin: while it promotes prosocial behavior, it does so selectively, reinforcing tribal boundaries. Through examples of psychological experiments and neuroimaging studies, he illustrates how deeply ingrained our "us vs. them" mentality is, affecting even our unconscious neural responses to faces and pain of others.

Sapolsky's insights shed light on the biological roots of prejudice and discrimination, while also offering hope by demonstrating how malleable these tribal boundaries can be. This clip offers a unique perspective on the challenges we face in our increasingly diverse societies and the potential for overcoming our innate biases.

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Keywords: Robert Sapolsky, neuroscience, oxytocin, tribalism, evolution, human behavior, us vs them, prejudice, brain science, social bonding, unconscious bias, neuroimaging, psychology, social psychology, human-dog bond, empathy, racial bias, in-group preference, neural responses, social neuroscience