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The Fourth Law of Behavior Genetics

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  • Chabris, C. F.
  • Lee, J. J.
  • Cesarini, D.
  • Benjamin, D. J.
  • Laibson, David I.

Abstract

Behavior genetics is the study of the relationship between genetic variation and psychological traits. Turkheimer (2000) proposed “Three Laws of Behavior Genetics†based on empirical regularities observed in studies of twins and other kinships. On the basis of molecular studies that have measured DNA variation directly, we propose a Fourth Law of Behavior Genetics: “A typical human behavioral trait is associated with very many genetic variants, each of which accounts for a very small percentage of the behavioral variability.†This law explains several consistent patterns in the results of gene-discovery studies, including the failure of candidate-gene studies to robustly replicate, the need for genome-wide association studies (and why such studies have a much stronger replication record), and the crucial importance of extremely large samples in these endeavors. We review the evidence in favor of the Fourth Law and discuss its implications for the design and interpretation of gene-behavior research.

Suggested Citation

  • Chabris, C. F. & Lee, J. J. & Cesarini, D. & Benjamin, D. J. & Laibson, David I., 2015. "The Fourth Law of Behavior Genetics," Scholarly Articles 30780203, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hrv:faseco:30780203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frank Dudbridge, 2013. "Power and Predictive Accuracy of Polygenic Risk Scores," PLOS Genetics, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Chabris, C.F. & Lee, J.J. & Benjamin, D.J. & Beauchamp, J.P. & Glaeser, E.L. & Borst, G. & Pinker, S. & Laibson, D.I., 2013. "Why it is hard to find genes associated with social science traits: Theoretical and empirical considerations," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(SUPPL.1), pages 152-166.
    3. Warren J Ewens & Mingyao Li & Richard S Spielman, 2008. "A Review of Family-Based Tests for Linkage Disequilibrium between a Quantitative Trait and a Genetic Marker," PLOS Genetics, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(9), pages 1-6, September.
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    5. Hastie, Nicholas D. & van der Loos, Matthijs J. H. M. & Vitart, Veronique & Völzke, Henry & Wellmann, Jürgen & Yu, Lei & Zhao, Wei & Allik, Jüri & Attia, John R. & Bandinelli, Stefania & Bastardot,, 2013. "GWAS of 126,559 Individuals Identifies Genetic Variants Associated with Educational Attainment," Scholarly Articles 13383543, Harvard University Department of Economics.
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