Subjective well-being is heritable and genetically correlated with dominance in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
The hypothesis that subjective well-being (SWB) is heritable and genetically correlated with Dominance was tested using 128 zoo chimpanzees. Dominance was a chimpanzee-specific personality factor including items reflecting Extraversion and low Neuroticism. SWB was measured with a 4-item scale. The best behavior genetic model included additive genetic and nonshared environmental effects for SWB and Dominance, marginal matemal effects for SWB, a high genetic correlation, and a low nonshared environmental correlation. Results indicated that the shared variance between SWB and Dominance was a consequence of common genes and that the unique variance between SWB and Dominance was a consequence of the nonshared environment. These findings indicate that common genes may underlie the correlation between human personality factors and SWB.
Weiss
Alexander
A
Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, USA. aweiss@chimpanzoo.org
King
James E
JE
Enns
R Mark
RM
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D012919:Social Behavior; D012930:Social Dominance