The genetics of politics: Discovery, challenges, and progress

Peter K. Hatemi, Rose McDermott

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

125 Scopus citations

Abstract

For the greater part of human history, political behaviors, values, preferences, and institutions have been viewed as socially determined. Discoveries during the 1970s that identified genetic influences on political orientations remained unaddressed. However, over the past decade, an unprecedented amount of scholarship utilizing genetic models to expand the understanding of political traits has emerged. Here, we review the 'genetics of politics', focusing on the topics that have received the most attention: attitudes, ideologies, and pro-social political traits, including voting behavior and participation. The emergence of this research has sparked a broad paradigm shift in the study of political behaviors toward the inclusion of biological influences and recognition of the mutual co-dependence between genes and environment in forming political behaviors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)525-533
Number of pages9
JournalTrends in Genetics
Volume28
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Genetics

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