Work

The Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Political, Psychological, Social, and Economic Behaviors: A Panel Study of Twins and Families

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Here we introduce the Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Political and Economic Behaviors: A Panel Study of Twins and Families (PIs Alford, Hatemi, Hibbing, Martin, and Smith). This study was designed to explore the genetic and environmental influences on social, economic, and political behaviors and attitudes. It involves identifying the psychological mechanisms that operate on these traits, the heritability of complex economic and political traits under varying conditions, and specific genetic correlates of attitudes and behaviors. In addition to describing the study, we conduct novel analyses on the data, estimating the heritability of two traits so far unexplored in the extant literature: Machiavellianism and Baron-Cohen's Empathizing Quotient.

Source: Twin Research and Human Genetics

DOI: 10.1017/thg.2015.13

Authors: Peter K. Hatemi, Kevin Smith, John R. Alford, Nicholas G. Martin, John R. Hibbing

Institutions: The University of Sydney, Pennsylvania State University, Rice University, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Language: English

Topic: Genetic Associations and Epidemiology

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Science Foundation

Awards: G4181218756, Collaborative Research: Investigating the Genetic Basis of Economic Behavior