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The Moral Molecule: How Trust Works Kindle Edition

by Paul J. Zak (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 140 ratings
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A Revolution in the Science of Good and Evil

Why do some people give freely while others are cold hearted?

Why do some people cheat and steal while others you can trust with your life?

Why are some husbands more faithful than others—and why do women tend to be more generous than men?

Could they key to moral behavior lie with a single molecule?

From the bucolic English countryside to the highlands of Papua New Guinea, from labs in Switzerland to his campus in Souther California, Dr. Paul Zak recounts his extraordinary stories and sets out, for the first time, his revolutionary theory of moral behavior.  Accessible and electrifying, The Moral Molecule reveals nothing less than the origins of our most human qualities—empathy, happiness, and the kindness of strangers.
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Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    9781101585559
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0525952817
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Plume
  5. Publication date
    May 10, 2012
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    931 KB
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is an important book. Empathy, cooperation, trusting, heroism, stinginess, skepticism, anger, tough mindedness: Paul Zak unpacks these and other deeply human feelings with his pioneering research into brain chemistry and his keen journalist eye--exposing the dignity (and treachery) within our common human nature. You will never think about lobsters, gossip,"butt slapping" footballers, middle management or the recent housing bubble fiasco the same way again. It's a "must know" and a great read."

—Helen Fisher, author of Why We Love

 
“Paul Zak tells the remarkable story of how he discovered and explored the biochemistry of sympathy, love and trust with the narrative skill of a novelist. Philosophy, economics and biology have rarely been so entertaining.”

—Matt Ridley, author of Genome

“An ancient mammalian molecule prods us to bond with others. Paul Zak offers a most engaging account of this important discovery, bound to overthrow traditional thinking about human behavior, including economics and morality.”

—Frans de Waal, author of The Age of Empathy

 
“Paul Zak's investigations into the best things in life are inspired, rigorous, and tremendous fun. We need more daring economists like him.”

— Tyler Cowen, author of An Economist Gets Lunch

“Zak has always been intrepid, with a sense of innocent but parsimonious wonder, and as a result his book on rather severe issues is nevertheless fresh—and moral.”

—Lionel Tiger, author of God’s Brain

About the Author

Paul J. Zak, Ph.D., is a professor of economics, management, and psychology at Claremont Graduate University. He lives in Los Angeles.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0074VTHD4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Plume (May 10, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 10, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 931 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 140 ratings

About the author

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Paul J. Zak

Paul J. Zak

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Dr. Paul J. Zak is a Professor of economics, psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University and is ranked in the top 0.3% of most cited scientists with over 200 published papers and more than 20,000 citations to his research. Paul’s two decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Along the way he help start a number of interdisciplinary fields including neuroeconomics, neuromanagement, and neuromarketing. He has written three general audience books and is a regular TED speaker. His newest book is Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and Source of Happiness.

Paul is also a four time tech entrepreneur; his current company, Immersion Neuroscience, is a software platform that allows anyone to measure what the brain loves in real-time to improve outcomes in entertainment, education and training, advertising and live events. Immersion has also released an emotional fitness app, Tuesday, that uses neural signals and AI to help people measure and improve their mental health. He frequently appears in the media in such places as Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, Fox & Friends, ABC Evening News, and his work has been reported in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, The Economist, Scientific American, Fast Company, Forbes, and various podcasts. Fun fact: he is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has created dialog for two movies.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
140 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Joey L.
5.0 out of 5 stars does a great job accurately depicting the science of oxytocin
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2015
Verified Purchase
I'm hesitant to read a lot of "pop science" books as they tend to be sensationalist and poorly represent science. This book, however, does a great job accurately depicting the science of oxytocin. I have a degree in psychology so I found the book easy to follow and well written. The information I was already familiar with was consistent in what I had learned in class and there was more than enough information that I hadn't learned to pique my interest. I was especially surprised to learn how oxytocin affects group relations... and not necessarily in a good way! (You'll have to read the book to see what I'm talking about :) ) It seemed written at such a level that those without the same background as me would be able to get something out of it. Anyone can learn something and come out with a better appreciation of the chemicals that affect our minds and behaviors.
3 people found this helpful
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Michael MacDonald
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for Positive Psychology
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021
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This is an excellent book that blends elements of autobiographical journey with accessible science with anthropological observations. Throughout, there are snippets of self-help as well.

Dr. Zak treats his readers as peers as he shares details of various experiments that he’s done over the years and offers the insights for consideration.

He clearly has a passion for his topic and a kindness that allows him to share his knowledge in such an understandable manner.

Oxytocin is known as the love drug or the hug hormone; thanks to Dr. Zak, I now realize that it’s not so trite as that. It’s deeper than just two people embracing (as amazing as that can be), it’s the foundation for creating the society that we all want to achieve. Think of this book as a guidebook to making that happen.
One person found this helpful
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Chuck Jenkins
5.0 out of 5 stars All we need is hugs
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2012
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This is an excellent book. It is easy to read and understand. It helps to understand the research that Dr. Paul Zak has done on Oxytocin, a chemical that is in our blood and affects our behavior. He demonstrates how a surge in this chemical affects how we trust others. He states that something as simple as a hug increases ones feeling of happiness, love, and trust. It not only increases the trust between individuals, but can increase trust between different "tribes" and different nations.

Makes me think that all Congressional sessions should begin, not with prayer by a chaplain, but by all people who are "across the aisle" crossing the aisle to give hugs to those on the other side. I think if you hugged someone and if you have gotten your hit of Oxytocin, it might go far in changing the political climate in Washington. Hey, it might work and it doesn't increase our taxes one cent.
7 people found this helpful
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Agathocles
4.0 out of 5 stars good book
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2014
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The author has done a lot to advance our understanding of oxytocin. He is a good writer, explains his science well. My one critique might be that, at time, he intermixes some conjecture with his facts; it makes the book more interesting, but it could give the wrong impression to an extent. The conjecture is generally reasonable and plausible, but nevertheless not proven. Still a fair book, and I'm glad that I read it.
One person found this helpful
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D. Van Praet
5.0 out of 5 stars Pioneering and Revelatory
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2013
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This is an important book. Paul Zak who is equally versed in neuroscience and economics provides a valuable lesson, especially for today's business leaders. And he does so through an accessible tale of his original discoveries about the neurochemical Oxytocin.

"Disruption" which literally means to "break apart" and "throw into disorder" is now the ubiquitous marketing buzzword. And corporations continue to believe they can engineer empathy for their so-called "targets" through "war rooms" and "bleeding edge" apps.

Zak has a different take, and points to a brighter future for both customers and businesses through our human ability to empathize and generate trust. He demonstrates that the key ingredient is a hormone that is not only responsible for our feelings of love, but also our economic prosperity. This happens best through a deep shared connection and common purpose that goes beyond the bottom line, putting precedence on doing good and helping customers as opposed to stealing share and beating competitors.
2 people found this helpful
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Benjamin Grubb
3.0 out of 5 stars The information is great. However
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2016
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The information is great. However, there's an slightly excessive disdain in his writing for 'religion' which comes off as new-agey. Basically oxytocin equals empathy testosterone equals anger and punishment. Hug people, talk to people you love, make friends etc.
2 people found this helpful
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Neil Jansen
5.0 out of 5 stars Zak provides the wonderful narrative of his own life and how it led ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016
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Exceeded expectations. This is not just another pop-sci author trying to explain human behavior by pulling together their own conclusions about others' research. Zak provides the wonderful narrative of his own life and how it led to his own actual research in the field of human behavior and economics. It's a quick read, packed with real studies, and offers a balanced look at the role hormones play in our modern world. Unlike some, however, he doesn't stop at just presenting his finding, but rather goes on to outline some ideas of how we can use his (and others') findings to make a better world. It's touchy-feely goodness backed by real science.
One person found this helpful
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Richard Mckenzie
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific science combined with storytelling
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2012
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Paul Zak. Remember the name. No, you need not. His name will come back time and again. He is a shooting star in economics and neuroeconomics. Moral Moelcule is a terrific book. Great science and great storytelling. In traditional economics, morality is an add-on. Something that must be constructed or realized through man-made rules and constitutional constraints on people's collective decision making, and for market-based decision making to work at all. Zak points to how such constraints might not have a prayer of making markets viable without the evolved chemistry of the brain that makes cooperation and trust self-rewarding. Great read, and I felt compelled to post this comment after the first four chapters, in spite of the fact that his arguments are unsettling for me as a traditional economist. I look forward to spending time with the rest of the book. Take a glimpse of the future of economics through this book. Very highly recommended.
17 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente de Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Neuroscience and Economics mix very well.
Reviewed in Mexico on March 2, 2018
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Real science backing the explanation of how markets and societies interact in search of the common good. A must read for Economists and public policy designers
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Noonet
3.0 out of 5 stars Long
Reviewed in France on August 1, 2019
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Intéressant, mais une lecture trop longue. L'auteur diverti à travers ses exemples, mais ce n'est pas assez pour renouveler l'interet pour le concept qui fini par s'épuiser.

Je pense que le problème vient du fait que les exemples sont justement trop detaillés pour des chose qui pourraient être expliqués ou dites en une seule page.
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Dr Vinod Chebbi
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in India on May 31, 2017
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Immensely readable like a fiction, but lacks concrete recearch backup.
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Meg
5.0 out of 5 stars Prompt delivery (despite pandemic) + old-school service
Reviewed in Australia on July 30, 2020
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Book arrived on time as promised, and in described condition. It was accompanied by a one-page newsletter listing some other titles offered by the seller, at sale prices. This one-pager was unusual, and a nice touch -- beautifully written, engaging, concise, and carefully put together. The listed books also looked interesting and diverse. While the newsletter is clearly a sales tool, it gave the transaction a personal touch -- a sense of old-fashioned customer service, from a capable online business. You can tell the person running this place actually cares about books. I'll be keeping an eye on this seller's catalogue and hope to order from them again in future.
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PatriciaDailey
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible mix of science and readability
Reviewed in Canada on June 23, 2012
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This book is the most readable book I have enjoyed in a long time never mind it is a science book much less neuro economics.The science is well explained and clearly the economic social and emotional issues are very compelling. The book starts with the quirky science experiment at a friends "vampire"wedding and concludes with the prescription that we all need 8 hugs a day. A terrific read for myself and my book club.
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