Variants of the Monoamine Oxidase A gene (MAOA) predict free-riding behavior in women in a strategic public goods experiment.

Abstract

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Conditional cooperation and confusion in public-goods experiments

“…This division of people into distinct social types has been the accepted basis for new fields of research investigating the cultural, genetic, and neuronal bases of this variation (3)(4)(5)(6)(17)(18)(19)(20). Some studies have suggested these differences can be exploited by policies to make societies behave in a more public spirited way (21)(22)(23)(24)(25).…”

No association between genetic variants in MAOA, OXTR, and AVPR1a and cooperative strategies

“…We aim to explore whether more refined measures of cooperative phenotypes—underlying strategies rather than observable actions—support the replicability and robustness of previously reported associations. We replicate the analysis of Mertins et al [ 27 ], by testing the association between cooperative strategies and MAOA- uVNTR variants in an admixed Latino population and extended it by including OXTR rs53576, and AVPR1a RS3 as additional candidates (n = 188).…”

“…Recent evidence supports the inheritability of cooperative strategies [ 11 ] and sheds light on its neurological basis [ 26 ]. To our knowledge, only Mertins et al [ 27 ] have reported association of a genetic variant with cooperative strategies, MAOA -uVNTR, located in the gene that codes for monoamine oxidase A, which metabolizes monoamine neurotransmitters. Variants in this gene lead to a lower expression (MAOA-L) or higher expression (MAOA-H) of monoamine oxidase A [ 28 ].…”

“…Variants in this gene lead to a lower expression (MAOA-L) or higher expression (MAOA-H) of monoamine oxidase A [ 28 ]. Mertins et al [ 27 ] found that women with MAOA-L variants are less likely to behave like free-riders than MAOA-H carriers. Similarly, it has been observed that women carrying MAOA-L variants cooperate more in repeated interactions [ 29 ] and that MAOA-L genotypes correlate with social sensitivity [ 30 ].…”

Greedy and Selfish? Differences in Fairness Preferences of Prospective Lawyers and Managers

“…It suggests that social preferences are partly hardwired. For example, genes have been proven to contribute to individual differences in cooperative behavior in experimental trust (Cesarini, Dawes, Fowler, Johannesson, Lichtenstein, & Wallace, 2008), dictator (Cesarini, Dawes, Johannesson, Lichtenstein, & Wallace, 2009) and public good games (Mertins, Schote, & Meyer, 2013). Thirdly, even if we yet do not fully believe that inclinations are stable by the end of a course of study, they should at least be predictive for behavior at the time of career entry, on which we focus.…”