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Genetics, Personality, and Group Identity
Author(s) -
Weber Christopher,
Johnson Martin,
Arceneaux Kevin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2011.00820.x
Subject(s) - conscientiousness , agreeableness , big five personality traits , psychology , social psychology , neuroticism , openness to experience , hierarchical structure of the big five , personality , extraversion and introversion , heritability , big five personality traits and culture , social identity theory , social group , identification (biology) , developmental psychology , genetics , biology , botany
Objective Group identity is a central concept in many social science disciplines. We investigate why people identify with groups and show favoritism to in‐group members. We anticipate group identifications are substantially influenced by genes and social environments, likely working through stable personality traits. Methods Using twin study data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States ( MIDUS I ), we investigate the heritability of in‐group identification and favoritism, as well as the extent to which the genetic bases of these orientations are shared with genetic underpinnings of personality traits, primarily focusing on the “Big Five”: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability/neuroticism. Results Group identification is largely attributable to genetic factors. However, environments also affect group identification. The heritability of personality traits accounts for a modest portion of the genetic variation of group identification. Conclusion Our findings have implications for the study of collective action, identity politics, and the growing research program investigating social and political behavior genetics.