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Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene explain why sales professionals love to help customers.

ABSTRACT: Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene affect people's social interaction styles in various social encounters: carriers of the OXTR GG, compared to the OXTR AA/AG in general, are more motivated to interact socially and detect social salience. We focus on sales professionals operating in knowledge intensive organizations. Study 1, with a sample of 141 sales people, shows that carriers of the OXTR GG allele, compared to the OXTR AA/AG allele, are more motivated to help customers than to manipulatively impose goods/services on them. Study 2, using genomic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a sample of 21 sales professionals processing facial pictures with different emotional valences, investigates key nuclei of social brain regions (SBRs). Compared to OXTR AA/AG carriers, OXTR GG carriers experience greater effective connectivity between SBRs of interest measured by Granger causality tests using univariate Haugh tests. In addition, the multivariate El-Himdi and Roy tests demonstrate that the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and pars opercularis (inferior frontal gyrus) play key roles when processing emotional expressions. The bilateral amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) show significantly greater clout-influence on other brain regions-for GG allele carriers than non-carriers; likewise, the bilateral pars opercularis, left amygdala, and left mPFC are more receptive to activity in other brain regions among GG allele carriers than AG/AA allele carriers are. Thus, carriers of the OXTR GG allele are more sensitive to changes in emotional cues, enhancing social salience. To our knowledge, this is the first study on how insights from imaging genetics help understanding of the social motivation of people operating in a professional setting.

SUBMITTER: Verbeke W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3841759 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene explain why sales professionals love to help customers.

Verbeke Willem W Bagozzi Richard P RP van den Berg Wouter E WE Lemmens Aurelie A

Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience 20131127

Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene affect people's social interaction styles in various social encounters: carriers of the OXTR GG, compared to the OXTR AA/AG in general, are more motivated to interact socially and detect social salience. We focus on sales professionals operating in knowledge intensive organizations. Study 1, with a sample of 141 sales people, shows that carriers of the OXTR GG allele, compared to the OXTR AA/AG allele, are more motivated to help customers than to manipulatively imp ...[more]

PMID: 24348351

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Project description:BackgroundIn some U.S. states, laws prohibit sales of recreational marijuana to intoxicated customers to prevent associated harms. In alcohol markets, training in responsible sales practices is one intervention to help reduce such sales to intoxicated customers. Similar training may be beneficial in the recreational cannabis market.MethodsAn online responsible marijuana vendor (RMV) training was developed. Among its five modules, learning elements taught store personnel to recognize signs of alcohol impairment and intoxication, refuse sales, and understand the risks of driving under the influence of cannabis. A sample of n = 150 recreational cannabis stores in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State, USA were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial, half of which were randomly assigned to use the RMV training. Stores were posttested using a pseudo-customer protocol in which confederate buyers feigned obvious signs of alcohol intoxication.ResultsDeterrence of sales to intoxicated customers does not seem to exist, regardless of whether the states' laws prohibit it. Only 16 of 146 stores (11.0%; 4 Oregon stores were eliminated that were not in business) refused sales. There was no difference in refusal rates between intervention (11.6% [3.9%]) and control stores (7.6% [3.1%], F = 0.71, p = 0.401 [1-tailed]) or between stores that used the RMV training (6.3% [4.0%]) or not (12.0% [5.7%], F = 0.91, p = 0.343 [2-tailed]). In 11 visits, store personnel commented on the buyers' behavior, or expressed concern/suspicion about buyers, but sold to them anyway.ConclusionsTraining in responsible sales practices alone did not appear to reduce sales to apparently alcohol-intoxicated customers. Legal deterrence from making these sales may be insufficient or nonexistent for store management to support adherence to this responsible sales practice. Regulatory and policy actions may be needed to increase perceived risk with such sales (i.e., clear policy and swift, severe, and certain penalties) to achieve training's benefits.

Project description:The mechanisms generating specific symptoms of schizophrenia remain unclear and genetic research makes it possible to explore these issues at a fundamental level. Taking into account the associations between the oxytocin system and social functions, which are apparently impaired in schizophrenia patients, we hypothesized that the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) might be associated with schizophrenia symptoms in both severity and responses to antipsychotics and did this exploratory positional study. A total of 2363 patients with schizophrenia (1181 males and 1182 females) included in our study were randomly allocated to seven antipsychotic treatment groups and received antipsychotic monotherapy for 6 weeks. Their blood DNA was genotyped for OXTR polymorphisms. Their symptom severity was assessed by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the scores were transformed into seven factors (positive, disorganized, negative symptoms apathy/avolition, negative symptoms deficit of expression, hostility, anxiety and depression). Percentage changes in PANSS scores from baseline to week 6 were calculated to quantify antipsychotic responses. We found that OXTR polymorphisms were nominally associated with the severity of overall symptoms (rs237899, β = 1.669, p = 0.019), hostility symptoms (rs237899, β = 0.427, p = 0.044) and anxiety symptoms (rs13316193, β = -0.197, p = 0.038). As for treatment responses, OXTR polymorphisms were nominally associated with the improvement in negative symptoms apathy/avolition (rs2268490, β = 2.235, p = 0.0499). No association between severity or response to treatment and OXTR polymorphisms was found with statistical correction for multiplicity. Overall, our results highlighted the possibility of nominally significant associations of the OXTR gene with the severity and improvement in schizophrenia symptoms. Given the exploratory nature of this study, these associations are indicative of the role of the OXTR gene in the pathology of schizophrenia and may contribute to further elucidate the mechanism of specific symptoms of schizophrenia and to exploit antipsychotics more effective to specific symptoms.

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Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene explain why sales professionals love to help customers.

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Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene explain why sales professionals love to help customers.

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