Genopolitics
Encyclopedia
Genopolitics is the study of the genetic basis of political behavior and attitudes. It combines behavior genetics, psychology
, and political science
and it is closely related to the emerging fields of neuropolitics (the study of the neural basis of political behavior and attitudes) and political physiology (the study of biophysical correlates of political attitudes and behavior).
The Chronicle of Higher Education
recently described the growth of genopolitics as a field of study and New York Times Magazine included genopolitics in its "Eighth Annual Year in Ideas," noting that the term was originally coined by James Fowler
.
and his colleagues published an influential twin study
of social attitudes in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
in 1986.
However, this early work did not specifically analyze whether or not political orientations were heritable, and political scientists remained mostly unaware of the heritability of social attitudes until 2005. In that year, the American Political Science Review
published a reanalysis of political questions on Martin's social attitude survey of twins in that the suggested liberal and conservative ideology is heritable.
matched publicly-available voter registration records to a twin registry in Los Angeles, analyzed self-reported voter turnout
in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
(Add Health), and studied other forms of political participation. In all three cases, both genes and environment contributed significantly to variation in political behavior.
Additional studies showed that genes did not play a direct role in the choice of a political party, supporting a core finding in the study of American politics that the choice to be a Democrat or a Republican is largely shaped by parental socialization. However, other studies showed that the decision to affiliate with any political party and the strength of this attachment are significantly influenced by genes.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and it is closely related to the emerging fields of neuropolitics (the study of the neural basis of political behavior and attitudes) and political physiology (the study of biophysical correlates of political attitudes and behavior).
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
recently described the growth of genopolitics as a field of study and New York Times Magazine included genopolitics in its "Eighth Annual Year in Ideas," noting that the term was originally coined by James Fowler
James H. Fowler
James H. Fowler is an American social scientist specializing in social networks, cooperation, political participation, and genopolitics...
.
Twin studies of political attitudes
Psychologists and behavior geneticists began using twin studies in the 1980s to study variation in social attitudes, and these studies suggested that both genes and environment played a role. In particular, Nick MartinNick Martin
Nicholas Gordon Martin is a leading behavior geneticist who has published over 600 peer-reviewed articles on topics as diverse as the heritability of religion and intelligence to medical disorders such as endometriosis...
and his colleagues published an influential twin study
Twin study
Twin studies help disentangle the relative importance of environmental and genetic influences on individual traits and behaviors. Twin research is considered a key tool in behavioral genetics and related fields...
of social attitudes in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences...
in 1986.
However, this early work did not specifically analyze whether or not political orientations were heritable, and political scientists remained mostly unaware of the heritability of social attitudes until 2005. In that year, the American Political Science Review
American Political Science Review
The American Political Science Review is the flagship publication of the American Political Science Association and is the most prestigious journal in political science according to the ISI 2004 Journal Citation Report...
published a reanalysis of political questions on Martin's social attitude survey of twins in that the suggested liberal and conservative ideology is heritable.
Twin studies of political behavior
The initial twin studies suggested political ideas are heritable, but they said little about political behavior. A 2008 article published in the American Political Science ReviewAmerican Political Science Review
The American Political Science Review is the flagship publication of the American Political Science Association and is the most prestigious journal in political science according to the ISI 2004 Journal Citation Report...
matched publicly-available voter registration records to a twin registry in Los Angeles, analyzed self-reported voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is the only nationally representative study of adolescent sexuality, which has spawned over one thousand peer-reviewed publications on many issues related to adolescent health and sexuality, and other adolescent health risk behaviors.The Add...
(Add Health), and studied other forms of political participation. In all three cases, both genes and environment contributed significantly to variation in political behavior.
Additional studies showed that genes did not play a direct role in the choice of a political party, supporting a core finding in the study of American politics that the choice to be a Democrat or a Republican is largely shaped by parental socialization. However, other studies showed that the decision to affiliate with any political party and the strength of this attachment are significantly influenced by genes.