Genetic influences are virtually absent for trust.
Over the past decades, numerous twin studies have revealed moderate to high heritability estimates for individual differences in a wide range of human traits, including cognitive ability, psychiatric disorders, and personality traits. Even factors that are generally believed to be environmental in nature have been shown to be under genetic control, albeit modest. Is such heritability also present in social traits that are conceptualized as causes and consequences of social interactions or in other ways strongly shaped by behavior of other people? Here we examine a population-based sample of 1,012 twins and relatives. We show that the genetic influence on generalized trust in other people (trust-in-others: h2 = 5%, ns), and beliefs regarding other people's trust in the self (trust-in-self: h2 = 13%, ns), is virtually absent. As test-retest reliability for both scales were found to be moderate or high (r = .76 and r = .53, respectively) in an independent sample, we conclude that all variance in trust is likely to be accounted for by non-shared environmental influences. We show that, relative to cognitive abilities, psychiatric disorders, and classic personality variables, genetic influences are smaller for trust, and propose that experiences with or observations of the behavior of other people shape trust more strongly than other traits.
Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Paul A M
PA
Van Lange
Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; The University of Queensland, Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), St. Lucia, Australia.
Anna A E
AA
Vinkhuyzen
Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Clinical Genetics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Sophia Child Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Danielle
D
Posthuma
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality / Q000235:genetics*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012042:Registries; D012931:Social Environment; D035502:Trust / Q000523:psychology*; D014427:Twins / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult