Behavioral Genetics, Population Genetics, and Genetic Essentialism
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Behavioral Genetics, Population Genetics, and Genetic Essentialism A Survey Experiment Alexandre Morin-Chassé 1 Accepted: 6 October 2020/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract
The paper presents an experimental study that examines the conditions required for news about behavioral genetics to activate genetic essentialism beliefs. Nine hundred sixty-five adults living in the USA were randomly assigned to read either a control news article or one of the three versions of a news story about behavioral genetics. The cautious version presents a general introduction to behavioral genetics and examples while also discrediting the genetic determinist myth and clarifying that this field is not interested in studying differences between populations. Another version was identical to the cautious version, except that it mentioned high heritability estimates as supporting evidence. Finally, a third version included claims supporting Nicolas Wade’s (2014) main thesis, which argued that societies develop different institutions partly because of their population’s behavioral genetic predispositions. Compared to participants in the control group, those exposed to the high heritability version and the Wade’s thesis version reported higher scores on a scale measuring belief in genetics determinism. The results revealed no overall effect for the cautious version, but an exploratory interaction model indicates that reactions to this version vary depending on educational attainment. Implications and limitations are discussed.
Previous versions of this manuscript were presented in 2015 at the Center for Research on the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic, and Behavioral Genetics (Columbia University), and at the 2015 Annual Conference of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (Montreal). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-02000166-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Alexandre Morin-Chassé [email protected]
1
Performance and Statistics Unit, Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre, Montreal, Canada
A. Morin-Chassé
1 Introduction Nicolas Wade’s 2014 book, entitled A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History combined a number of explosive claims that were certain to cause public outcry. To begin, Wade argued that research in population genetics offers scientific proof that human races exist. He then held that, because of genetic differences resulting from natural selection, human races differ in their instinctive social behavior, such as violence, conformism, intelligence, and social trust. However, Wade’s central thesis rested in a third claim: that the social institutions adopted by a society—political regime, justice system, commerce, scientific and cultural innovation—partly depend on the mix of inherited social behavior found among its members’ DNA. A Troublesome Inheritance received
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