Zak is a University Professor at Claremont Graduate University. He graduated with degrees in mathematics and economics fromSan Diego State University before acquiring a PhD in economics from theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He is professor atClaremont Graduate University inSouthern California. He has studied brain imaging, and was among the first to identify the role ofoxytocin in mediating trusting behaviors between unacquainted humans.[1] Zak directs the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies[2] at Claremont Graduate University and is a member of theNeurology Department atLoma Linda University Medical Center. He editedMoral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy (Princeton University Press, 2008).[3] His book,The Moral Molecule was published in 2012 by Dutton. The book summarizes his findings on oxytocin and discusses the role of oxytocin in human experiences and behaviors such as empathy, altruism, and morality.
Zak's research aims to challenge the thought that people generally are driven primarily to act for what they consider their self-interest,[4] and asks how morality may modulate one's interpretation of what constitutes "self-interest" in one's own personal terms.[5] Methodological questions have arisen in regards to Zak's work, however.[6] Other commentators though have called his work "one of the most revealing experiments in the history of economics."[7]According toThe Moral Molecule, Zak's father was an engineer and he takes an engineering approach to neuroscience, seeking to create predictive models of behavior.
His research and ideas have garnered some criticism, particularly from science writerEd Yong, who points out that oxytocin administration boosts schadenfreude and envy.[8] Oxytocin administration increases the salience of social cues, suggesting that priming effects in these experiments explain their findings.[9] For example, Zak has shown that endogenous oxytocin release eliminates in-group bias indicating that the critiqued effects are due to supraphysiologic doses of oxytocin coupled with antisocial priming.[10]
NeuroscientistMolly Crockett also disputes Zak's claims, referring to studies that show oxytocin increases gloating, bias at the expense of other groups, and in some cases decreasing cooperation; suggesting oxytocin is as much an "immoral molecule" as 'the moral molecule' Paul Zak claims.[11]
Zak has coined the term "neuromanagement" to describe how findings in neuroscience can be used to create organizational cultures that are highly engaging for employees and produce high performance for organizations.[12] He has developed a methodology calledOfactor that quantifies organizational culture and identifies how to continuously improve culture to increase trust, joy, and performance. He has used Ofactor to help organizations ranging from nonprofits to startups to Fortune 50 companies change their cultures. His Ofactor research reflects the approach advocated by his late colleague atClaremont Graduate University, management guruPeter F. Drucker, in which organizations with flat hierarchies empower employees. His 2017 bookTrust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies shows leaders of organizations how to create and sustain a culture of trust.
Zak has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries. He was listed by researchers at Stanford University as being in the world's top 0.3% of the most cited scientists.[13]
Zak's lab has discovered neurologic signals that reflect engagement in stories and predict post-narrative behaviors.[14] Some of this work was funded by DARPA to help the U.S. military reduce conflict.
Zak is frequently interviewed in the media on topics ranging from economic policy to romantic relationships.[15][16] His 2011TED talk on oxytocin and trust has gained over a million views.[17] He was named byWired magazine as one of the 10 Sexiest Geeks in 2005.[18] Zak suggests that intimate contact, using social ritual and social media such as using Twitter and Facebook raises oxytocin levels.[19][20] He is a frequent public speaker on the neuroscience of daily life, including morality, storytelling, and organizational culture and writes articles for magazines and trade publication on these topics.
Zak, P. J.; Borja, K.; Matzner, W. T.; Kurzban, R. (2005). "The Neuroeconomics of Distrust: Sex Differences in Behavior and Physiology".American Economic Review.95 (2):360–3.doi:10.1257/000282805774669709.hdl:10983/26303.PMID29125276.
Morhenn, V.; Park, J.; Piper, E.; Zak, P. (2008). "Monetary sacrifice among strangers is mediated by endogenous oxytocin release after physical contact".Evolution and Human Behavior.29 (6): 375.CiteSeerX10.1.1.181.82.doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.04.004.
Barraza, J. A.; Alexander, V.; Beavin, L. E.; Terris, E. T.; Zak, P. J. (2015). "The heart of the story: Peripheral physiology during narrative exposure predicts charitable giving".Biological Psychology.105:138–143.doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.01.008.PMID25617658.S2CID14306833.
^Conlisk, J. (2011). "Professor Zak's empirical studies on trust and oxytocin".Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.78 (1–2):160–234.doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2011.01.002.
^John P. A. Ioannidis, Kevin W. Boyack, Jeroen Baas, "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators", PLoS Biology 18(10): e3000918, 2020,https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000918.
