Party Animal? It’s Not Genetic
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Genes shape our health and appearance more than they shape our personality, suggests a new study of thousands of people in a genetically isolated part of the world.
According to the study, published in the August issue of PLoS Genetics, genetics account for roughly 51% of a person’s height, weight and body shape, 25% of cardiovascular function and about 40% of certain blood characteristics, such as sugar and cholesterol levels.
But genes only account for about 19% of many documented personality traits, such as neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness.
“My personal view is that we have evolved to have very diverse personalities and that, compared to other traits, personality may be much less deterministic than other human characteristics,” says Associate Professor Gonçalo Abecasis, one of the study’s authors.
Information | TheFourEyes June 24, 2007
