Bill's Notebook » oxytocin http://blog.billbrantley.com Random notes on politics, government, science, and technology. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:38:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Trust in Government Starts by Lowering Stress in Citizens http://blog.billbrantley.com/2010/04/29/trust-in-government-starts-by-lowering-stress-in-citizens/ http://blog.billbrantley.com/2010/04/29/trust-in-government-starts-by-lowering-stress-in-citizens/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:33:07 +0000 bill http://blog.billbrantley.com/?p=260 Fascinating story on NPR about the “trust” hormone (oxytocin) and one researcher’s findings that trust in the government is related to the amount of stress someone feels at the time.  According to the study, trust in the government is at an all time low because of the stress people feel due to the recession.  When college students were given a squirt of oxytocin they reported feeling more trusting of other people.  From this trust, they also reported less distrust in the government.

So, by promoting wellness and lowering the national stress level, could the government also be promoting better citizen engagement?

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