Trust Me, It’s Only Oxytocin

From this week’s New Scientist comes a news story about the effects of Oxytocin:

Giving people a whiff of a key chemical can make them more inclined to trust strangers with their cash, a new study reveals. Just three puffs of a nasal spray containing a hormone called oxytocin increased the chance that people would part with their money.

Raises the spectre of it being introduced at political rallies, religious meetings and pyramid selling scams…

Hopefully, at the moment:

Kosfeld doubts it, because it takes nearly an hour for the hormone to reach the brain. Nor would it be easy to make people “sniff” something unfamiliar, and it is not known whether it would work through a spiked drink.

Whaddya mean: "it’s not known whether it would work through a spiked drink"? Surely that’s part 2 of the research? Get your KoolAid here…