How many traits of our character are determined by genes? A new study says, not that many

Scientists have long known that there is a connection between genes and personality traits. But figuring out how significant the contribution of heredity is, and which specific genetic variants matter, has not been easy.

As IFLScience writes, the authors of a new study analyzed genetic data from 46 different groups of people. Researchers looked for connections between individual genetic variants and personality traits from the so-called "Big Five" — extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.

Separately, scientists studied the genomes of 50,725 close relatives. This helped to better separate the influence of heredity from the influence of shared environment and upbringing.

In total, scientists identified 1260 main genetic variants associated with personality traits, 824 of which had never been identified before.

Preliminary findings suggest that collectively, these variants control 5% to 9% of an individual's combination of personality traits, though the authors believe this figure could reach 13% when considering only the most reliable measurement parameters.

Despite the results obtained, the authors insist that even direct genetic influence does not determine personality. Many other circumstances, from upbringing and social environment to life experience, influence what a person becomes. Nevertheless, the presence of certain genetic variants does indeed increase the likelihood that a person will more strongly exhibit one trait or another. And that trait, in turn, can be associated with certain behaviors and life decisions.

For example, people with a high genetic predisposition to neuroticism and a low predisposition to agreeableness were statistically more likely to run away from home, be suspended from school, and threaten others with cold or firearms.

At the same time, genetic variants associated with higher conscientiousness correlated with a lower likelihood of drug use.

Genetic predispositions can also be linked to how a person is perceived by others. People with a lower predisposition to neuroticism and a higher predisposition to extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience were more often assessed as having an attractive character.

But these connections are not limited to behavior. Researchers found that genetic characteristics can even be linked to the area where a person lives in middle age.

Thus, a genetic profile associated with openness to experience increased the likelihood that a person would live in a cosmopolitan business district by the age of 50. And genes associated with conscientiousness increased a person's chances of moving to the suburbs after reaching that age.

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