Genes and Politics: A New Explanation and Evaluation of Twin Study Results and Association Studies in Political Science

Abstract

This article offers a new explanation for the results of twin studies in political science that supposedly disclose a genetic basis for political traits. I argue that identical twins tend to be more alike than nonidentical twins because the former are more similarly affected by the same environmental conditions, but the content of those greater trait similarities is nevertheless completely malleable and determined by particular environments. The twin studies method thus can neither prove nor refute the argument for a genetic basis of political traits such as liberal and conservative preferences or voting turnout. The meaning of heritability estimates results in twin studies are discussed, as well as the definition and function of the environment in the political science twin studies. The premature attempts to associate political traits with specific genes despite countertrends in genetics are also examined. I conclude by proposing that the alternative explanation of this article may explain certain puzzles in behavioral genetics, particularly why social and political traits have higher heritability estimates than common physical and medical traits. I map the main point of disagreements with the methodology and the interpretation of its results, and delineate the main operative implications for future research.

Genetic Influences on Political Ideologies: Twin Analyses of 19 Measures of Political Ideologies from Five Democracies and Genome-Wide Findings from Three Populations

“…Third, the epistemological divide that exists between the life and social sciences has contributed to the lack of acceptance of behavior genetic theory and methods (e.g., see Beckwith and Morris 2008; Charney 2008a; Charney 2008b; Charney 2012; Shultziner 2013). This is particularly true regarding the majority of genetically informed studies of ideology, which have relied on quantitative models of twins, adoptees and kinships.…”

“…The theoretical premise and statistical methods behind these approaches are foreign to most social scientists making it difficult for many to effectively evaluate and integrate this research into their own work. Indeed, a recent publication in Political Analysis , the journal considered to be the leading methods journal in political science, claimed that twin models do not account for gene-environment interaction and twin researchers are unaware of the possibility of gene-environment interplay (see Shultziner 2013), despite the thousands of publications that show otherwise (for a response and review see Verhulst and Hatemi 2013). Behavior genetic approaches have also inspired philosophical objections due to the firm belief that behavioral differences are entirely socialized.…”

Student protest and the culture of violence at African universities: An inherited ideological trait

“…In response to this criticism, Fowler and Dawes (2013) argue that genopolitics has already made a lasting contribution to the field of political science and advancing the field requires conducting open empirical studies that lay out the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used to measure the world. Other strong critics of genopolitics are Joseph (2010) and Shultziner (2013). Joseph (2010) posits that political scientists have claimed that differences in political orientation and behaviour have an important genetic basis.…”

“…He questions the methodology used in arriving at such findings. Shultziner (2013) on the other hand, argues that the results of twin studies in political science that supposedly disclose a genetic basis for political traits, is not justified. This is because identical twins tend to be more alike than non-identical twins.…”

A konzervativizmus kutatásának hat évtizede: Adornótól a biopolitikáig – Kritikai tanulmány

“…A megközelítés olyan kutatók részéről is vitatott, akik maguk is a biológia integrálásának módozatait keresik (CHARNEY, 2008;CHARNEY és ENG-LISH, 2013;JOSEPH, 2013;SUHAY, KALMOE és MCDERMOTT, 2007;SHULTZINER, 2013). A kritikák egy része magát az ikervizsgálati módszereket kritizálja, attól függetlenül, hogy azokat milyen tartalmi kontextusban alkalmazzák.…”