Personality Genomics

Abstract

Recent research advances have precipitated the era of personality genomics: the study of how variation in human DNA sequence predicts individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Here, we introduce personality and genomics, and we review key findings from recent genome-wide association studies of personality traits. These findings support five key observations: (a) sizable genetic effects on personality arise from a vast number of genetic variants with individually miniscule effects; (b) genetic variants associated with personality have widespread associations with other attributes, including social, economic, and medical outcomes; (c) genetic effects on personality generalize across groupings of people; (d) genetic effects on personality are minimally confounded by familial environmental effects; and (e) many recent genomic findings were anticipated by classic twin genetic research. For personality psychologists, embracing genomics provides unique and powerful inferential tools. For genomics researchers, incorporating unifying personality frameworks enables an integrative understanding of core behavioral dimensions.