Cited by 180Genetic Associations and EpidemiologyCognitive Abilities and TestingNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Using genetics for social science

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Harden, K. Paige, Koellinger, Philipp D.·2020·Nature Human Behaviour

Abstract

Social science genetics is concerned with understanding whether, how and why genetic differences between human beings are linked to differences in behaviours and socioeconomic outcomes. Our review discusses the goals, methods, challenges and implications of this research endeavour. We survey how the recent developments in genetics are beginning to provide social scientists with a powerful new toolbox they can use to better understand environmental effects, and we illustrate this with several substantive examples. Furthermore, we examine how medical research can benefit from genetic insights into social-scientific outcomes and vice versa. Finally, we discuss the ethical challenges of this work and clarify several common misunderstandings and misinterpretations of genetic research on individual differences. Harden and Koellinger discuss the goals, methods and challenges of social science genetics, which aims to unravel the genetic underpinnings of individual differences in social, behavioural and health outcomes.

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  1. [9]Turkheimer E & Paige Harden K Behavior Genetic Research Methods. in Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology 159– 187 (Cambridge University Press, 2014).
  2. [114]Turley P Multi-trait analysis of genome-wide association summary statistics using MTAG. Nat. Genet. 50, 229– 237 (2018). 29292387 PMC5805593

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Authors
Harden, K. P., & Koellinger, P. D.
Affiliations
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
Corresponding author
  • Harden, K. Paige
  • Koellinger, Philipp D.
Venue
Nature Human Behaviour
Published
2020-05-11
Volume
4
Issue
6
Pages
567-576
ISSN
2397-3374 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3023331821
Cited by
180
References
118
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 9
FWCI
3.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Human Behaviour (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • John Templeton Foundation
  • University of Texas at Austin
  • Jacobs Foundation
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD042849)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24HD042849, R01HD092548, R01HD083613, P2CHD042849)
  • H2020 European Research Council (647648)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
behavioral genetics, socioeconomic outcomes, environmental effects, gene-environment interaction, individual differences, health outcomes, medical genetics, genetic research ethics
MeSH terms
Human Genetics, Humans, Psychology, Social, Social Mobility, Social Sciences, Multifactorial Inheritance, Genome-Wide Association Study

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