1. Various research centers are studying identical twins in order to discover the “heritability” of behavioral characteristics – that is, the degree to which a trait is due to genes (“nature”) instead of environment. They have reached some surprising conclusions. One study found, for example, that optimism and pessimism are both very much influenced by genes, but only optimism is affected by environment, too. According to another study, genes influence our coffee consumption, but not consumption of tea. Anxiety (nervousness and worry) seems to be 40 to 50 percent heritable. Another study tells us that happiness does not depend much on money or love or professional success; instead, it is 80 percent heritable! Among the traits that appear to be largely heritable are shyness, attraction to danger (thrill seeking), choice of career, and religious belief.
2. It is not easy to discover the genes that influence personality. The acid that carries genetic information in every human cell, DNA, contains just four chemicals: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. But a single gene is “spelled out” by perhaps a million combinations. As the Human Genome Project (which provided a “map” of human genes) was almost complete in the spring of 2000, there were a number of newspaper headlines about specific discoveries: Gene Linked to Anxiety and Thrill Seeking Due to Genetics. The newspaper articles led people to believe that a single gene is responsible for a certain personality trait, in the same way a single gene can be responsible for a physical characteristic or disease. However, one gene alone cannot cause people to become anxious or thrill seeking. Instead, many genes work together, and they direct the combination of chemicals in the body. These chemicals, such as dopamine and serotonin (which affect a person’s mood), have a significant influence on personality.
3. If, indeed, personality traits are, on average, about 50 percent heritable, then environment still plays an important role. Unlike other animals, human beings have choice. If our genes “program” us to be anxious, we can choose a low-stress lifestyle or choose to meditate or do relaxation exercises. But because of the powerful influence of genes, most psychologists believe that there is a limit to what we can choose to do. Thomas Bouchard, a psychologist and the director of one twin study, says that parents should not push children in directions that go against their nature. “The job of a parent,” he says, “is to look for a kid’s natural talents and then provide the best possible environment for them
1. Various research centers are studying identical twins in order to discover the “heritability” of behavioral characteristics – that is, the degree to which a trait is due to genes (“nature”) instead of environment. They have reached some surprising conclusions. One study found, for example, that optimism and pessimism are both very much influenced by genes, but only optimism is affected by environment, too. According to another study, genes influence our coffee consumption, but not consumption of tea. Anxiety (nervousness and worry) seems to be 40 to 50 percent heritable. Another study tells us that happiness does not depend much on money or love or professional success; instead, it is 80 percent heritable! Among the traits that appear to be largely heritable are shyness, attraction to danger (thrill seeking), choice of career, and religious belief.
2. It is not easy to discover the genes that influence personality. The acid that carries genetic information in every human cell, DNA, contains just four chemicals: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. But a single gene is “spelled out” by perhaps a million combinations. As the Human Genome Project (which provided a “map” of human genes) was almost complete in the spring of 2000, there were a number of newspaper headlines about specific discoveries: Gene Linked to Anxiety and Thrill Seeking Due to Genetics. The newspaper articles led people to believe that a single gene is responsible for a certain personality trait, in the same way a single gene can be responsible for a physical characteristic or disease. However, one gene alone cannot cause people to become anxious or thrill seeking. Instead, many genes work together, and they direct the combination of chemicals in the body. These chemicals, such as dopamine and serotonin (which affect a person’s mood), have a significant influence on personality.
3. If, indeed, personality traits are, on average, about 50 percent heritable, then environment still plays an important role. Unlike other animals, human beings have choice. If our genes “program” us to be anxious, we can choose a low-stress lifestyle or choose to meditate or do relaxation exercises. But because of the powerful influence of genes, most psychologists believe that there is a limit to what we can choose to do. Thomas Bouchard, a psychologist and the director of one twin study, says that parents should not push children in directions that go against their nature. “The job of a parent,” he says, “is to look for a kid’s natural talents and then provide the best possible envi
ronment for them."
Overall, these research findings highlight the complex interplay between genes and environment in shaping human behavior and personality traits. While genes do play a significant role in influencing certain characteristics, such as optimism, coffee consumption, and happiness, environmental factors also have an impact. Additionally, it is important to remember that personality traits are not solely determined by one gene, but rather involve the interaction of multiple genes and the chemicals they produce in the body. Despite the genetic influence, humans still have the ability to make choices and shape their own environments to some degree. Parents, in particular, are encouraged to recognize and nurture their children's natural talents and provide a supportive environment that aligns with their innate predispositions.
ronment for them."
To summarize, various research centers have conducted studies on identical twins to determine the heritability of behavioral characteristics. These studies have found that genes can influence traits such as optimism, pessimism, coffee consumption, but only optimism is also affected by the environment. Anxiety is found to be 40-50% heritable, while happiness is 80% heritable. Other traits such as shyness, attraction to danger, choice of career, and religious belief also appear to be largely heritable.
Discovering the genes that influence personality is challenging as a single gene is "spelled out" by millions of combinations in the chemical composition of DNA. The Human Genome Project has provided a map of human genes, and there have been newspaper headlines suggesting a single gene is responsible for certain personality traits, but it is not the case. Many genes work together and influence the combination of chemicals in the body, such as dopamine and serotonin, which significantly impact personality.
Although personality traits are, on average, 50% heritable, the environment still plays a significant role. Unlike other animals, humans have agency and can make choices. For example, if our genes predispose us to anxiety, we can choose a low-stress lifestyle or engage in relaxation exercises. However, due to the powerful influence of genes, psychologists believe there are limits to what we can choose to do. It is suggested that parents should identify their children's natural talents and provide them with the best possible environment to nurture those talents.
ronment for them.
According to various research centers studying identical twins, they aim to determine the "heritability" of behavioral characteristics, which refers to the degree to which a trait is influenced by genes (nature) rather than the environment. Surprising conclusions have been reached through these studies.
For example, one study found that optimism and pessimism are both strongly influenced by genes, but only optimism is also affected by the environment. Another study discovered that genes influence our coffee consumption, but not our consumption of tea. Anxiety, on the other hand, appears to be 40 to 50 percent influenced by heredity. Additionally, happiness seems to be 80 percent heritable, meaning that it is largely determined by our genes rather than external factors such as money, love, or professional success. Other traits that show a significant influence from genes include shyness, attraction to danger (thrill-seeking), choice of career, and religious belief.
Discovering the genes that influence personality is not an easy task. While DNA, the acid that carries genetic information in every human cell, consists of just four chemicals (adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine), a single gene can be spelled out by millions of combinations. The Human Genome Project, completed in the spring of 2000, provided a map of human genes, leading to newspaper headlines about specific discoveries such as genes linked to anxiety and thrill-seeking. However, it is important to note that a single gene cannot solely determine a personality trait. Multiple genes work together and direct the combination of chemicals in the body. These chemicals, like dopamine and serotonin, which affect a person's mood, significantly impact personality.
While personality traits are, on average, about 50 percent heritable, the environment also plays an important role. Unlike other animals, humans have a choice in how they respond to their genetic predispositions. For instance, if genes predispose someone to anxiety, they can choose to lead a low-stress lifestyle or engage in practices like meditation and relaxation exercises. However, due to the powerful influence of genes, psychologists believe that there are limits to what individuals can choose to do. Thomas Bouchard, a psychologist and director of one twin study, suggests that parents should not push their children in directions that go against their natural talents and inclinations. Instead, the role of a parent is to identify a child's natural talents and provide the best possible environment to nurture those talents.