"Since 2001, we conducted experiments showing that when someone's level of oxytocin goes up, he or she responds more generously and caringly. We relied on the willingness of our subjects to share real money with others. To measure the increase in oxytocin, we took their blood and analyzed it. We sprayed synthetic oxytocin into our subjects' nasal passages -- a way to get it directly into their brains. We could turn the behavioral response on and off like a garden hose, and we found that you don't need to shoot a chemical up someone's nose, or have sex with them, to create the surge in oxytocin. All you have to do is give someone a sign of trust. When one person extends himself to another in a trusting way, the person being trusted experiences a surge in oxytocin that makes her less likely to hold back and less likely to cheat. The feeling of being trusted makes a person more trustworthy, which makes other people more inclined to trust, which in turn... makes an endless loop that can feed back onto itself, creating ultimately a more virtuous society." - Adriano