The extended genotype: the heritability of personality accounts for the heritability of recalled family environments in twins reared apart

Robert F Krueger; Kristian E Markon; Thomas J Bouchard Jr

doi:10.1111/1467-6494.7105005

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The extended genotype: the heritability of personality accounts for the heritability of recalled family environments in twins reared apart

Journal article

Peer reviewed

The extended genotype: the heritability of personality accounts for the heritability of recalled family environments in twins reared apart

Robert F Krueger, Kristian E Markon and Thomas J Bouchard Jr

Journal of personality, Vol.71(5), pp.809-833

10/2003

DOI: 10.1111/1467-6494.7105005

PMID: 12932211

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Abstract

How are retrospective accounts of family rearing environments linked to adult personality? We addressed this question by measuring both domains in a sample of 180 reared-apart twins. Twins completed extensive measures of rearing environments (the Minnesota-Briggs History Record, the Block Environmental Questionnaire, the Family Environment Scale, and the Physical Facilities Questionnaire) and an omnibus measure of adult personality (the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire). Retrospective accounts of family environments were partially heritable and all the heritable variance in environmental measures could be accounted for by heritable variance in personality. In addition, differences between twins in their accounts of their rearing environments (nonshared environmental factors) were not significantly linked to differences between twins in their personalities. Hence, family environmental measures appear to be heritable because personality genes influence the way people shape and recall their rearing environments. In addition, differences in reared-apart twins' retrospectively recalled rearing environments appear to have little impact on differences in their personalities in adulthood.

Phenotype

Multivariate Analysis

Mental Recall

Twins, Dizygotic - psychology

Personality Development

Twins, Monozygotic - genetics

Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data

Humans

Middle Aged

Genotype

Male

Personality - genetics

Social Environment

Twins, Dizygotic - genetics

Twins, Monozygotic - psychology

Parenting - psychology

Individuality

Adult

Female

Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data

Details

Title: Subtitle: The extended genotype: the heritability of personality accounts for the heritability of recalled family environments in twins reared apart
Creators: Robert F Krueger - Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0344, USA. krueg038@umn.edu
Kristian E Markon
Thomas J Bouchard Jr
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of personality, Vol.71(5), pp.809-833
DOI: 10.1111/1467-6494.7105005
PMID: 12932211
NLM abbreviation: J Pers
ISSN: 0022-3506
eISSN: 1467-6494
Language: English
Date published: 10/2003
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984083848102771

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