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Cited by 245Complex Network Analysis TechniquesLanguage and cultural evolutionEvolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

Model of genetic variation in human social networks

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Fowler, James H., Dawes, Christopher T., Christakis, Nicholas A.·2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.0806746106PMC PMC2644104
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Abstract

Social networks exhibit strikingly systematic patterns across a wide range of human contexts. Although genetic variation accounts for a significant portion of the variation in many complex social behaviors, the heritability of egocentric social network attributes is unknown. Here, we show that 3 of these attributes (in-degree, transitivity, and centrality) are heritable. We then develop a “mirror network” method to test extant network models and show that none account for observed genetic variation in human social networks. We propose an alternative “Attract and Introduce” model with two simple forms of heterogeneity that generates significant heritability and other important network features. We show that the model is well suited to real social networks in humans. These results suggest that natural selection may have played a role in the evolution of social networks. They also suggest that modeling intrinsic variation in network attributes may be important for understanding the way genes affect human behaviors and the way these behaviors spread from person to person.

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  • Active network dynamics are mediated by brains and nervous systems that are transcriptionally plastic and sensitive to both biological and social influences.

    “These active network dynamics are mediated by brains and nervous systems that are themselves transcriptionally plastic and thus sensitive to both biological and social influences [59], [60].”

    From Human Social Genomics (2014) · cites this paper as [60]

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [11]11. Evans, D.M., Gillespie, N.A., Martin, N.G. Biological Psychology 61, 33 (2002).
  2. [21]21. Holland, P., Leinhardt, S. in Sociological Methodology , D. Heise, Ed. (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1975), pp. 1-45.

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Authors
Fowler, J. H., Dawes, C. T., & Christakis, N. A.
Affiliations
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2009-02-10
Volume
106
Issue
6
Pages
1720-1724
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.0806746106
PMC
PMC2644104
OpenAlex
W2080569341
Cited by
245
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 27
FWCI
18.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • SSRN Electronic Journal (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (0719404)
  • National Institute on Aging (P01AG031093)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › Complex Network Analysis Techniques
  • Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Keywords
human social networks, genetic variation, heritability, personal networks, in-degree, transitivity, centrality, network evolution, natural selection, social behavior genetics, gene-culture coevolution
MeSH terms
Genetics, Behavioral, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Models, Theoretical, Social Support, Genetic Variation

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