Back to the directoryFind in the history view
Behavioral genetics
Behavioral genetics studies how genetic and environmental differences among people relate to differences in behavior, mainly through twin, family and adoption designs and gene-finding studies.
- Type of entry
- Interdisciplinary fieldAn area that draws on psychology together with other disciplines. Types are editorial labels, not an official classification.
- Cluster
- Brain and cognitionMind, brain, perception, language, emotion and animal behavior.
- Sources opened
- 3 of 30 read as a full page, 3 as selected text or an abstract, 0 not verified.
- Independent review
- Admitted after correctionsClaude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. 8 claims checked against 3 sources opened by the reviewer.
What it studies
Behavioral genetics studies how genetic and environmental differences among people relate to differences in behavior and psychological traits. The Behavior Genetics Association describes the area as the scientific study of the interrelationship of genetic mechanisms and behavior, in humans and animals. The Association says the field has a strong tradition in twin and family designs and now also includes gene-finding studies.
History and people
The Behavior Genetics Association says it was founded in 1970 as an international society. It describes a strong tradition in twin and family study designs, with gene-finding studies added more recently. The sources opened for this guide do not document earlier origins, a journal start date or a single founder, so those are left out.
People and documented roles
- Thomas J. Bouchard. Co-author of a 2003 review of behavioral genetic research on psychological differences
- Co-authored a review outlining quantitative methods, criticisms of twin and adoption designs, and evidence across five domains of individual differences. [2]
- Matt McGue. Co-author of a 2003 review of behavioral genetic research on psychological differences
- Co-authored the same review, which concludes that virtually all reliably measured individual psychological differences are moderately to substantially heritable. [2]
- Eric Turkheimer. Author of a 2000 article interpreting behavior genetic findings
- Argued that twin studies do not show genes to be more fundamental than environments and that neither common reading of heritability findings is correct. [3]
The sources opened document the authors of two review articles but not the field's earlier contributors or the individuals who organized the 1970 society. No founder is established, and earlier twin and family research was not documented in the pages opened.
Dated milestones
- 1970Society or organization formed. Year.Behavior Genetics Association founding year, as the society states it (self-description); not the start of the field. [1]
Methods
Twin and family designs are the traditional approach, and gene-finding studies are more recent. A 2003 review by Thomas Bouchard and Matt McGue outlines the basic quantitative methods of behavioral genetics and discusses major criticisms of twin and adoption designs. It then summarizes the evidence for cognitive abilities, personality, social attitudes, psychological interests and psychopathology.
Training and applications
The sources opened describe behavioral genetics as a research area. The Association says it supports training for researchers and communicates what genetics reveals about behavior, including implications for health, development and education, to the public. The sources opened describe no credential specific to behavioral genetics.
Boundaries and limits
Bouchard and McGue conclude that virtually all individual psychological differences, when measured reliably, are moderately to substantially heritable. Eric Turkheimer argued in 2000 that genotype looks like a more systematic source of variability than environment for methodological rather than substantive reasons, and that twin studies do not show genes to be more fundamental than environments. He rejects both the view that heritability matters little and the view that family environment is unimportant.
Evidence behind the claims
The Behavior Genetics Association says it aims to promote the scientific study of the interrelationship of genetic mechanisms and behavior in humans and animals.
The Association says the field has a strong tradition in twin and family study designs and more recently includes gene-finding studies.
The Behavior Genetics Association says it was founded in 1970 and describes itself as an international society.
The Association says it supports training for researchers and works to communicate what genetics reveals about behavior, including implications for health, development and education, to the general public.
Bouchard and McGue's 2003 review outlines the basic quantitative methods of behavioral genetics, reviews major criticisms of twin and adoption designs, and covers five domains: cognitive abilities, personality, social attitudes, psychological interests and psychopathology.
Bouchard and McGue conclude that there is strong evidence that virtually all individual psychological differences, when measured reliably, are moderately to substantially heritable.
Turkheimer's 2000 article argues that genotype is a more systematic source of variability than environment for methodological rather than substantive reasons, that twin studies do not show genes to be more fundamental than environments, and that both the view that heritability matters little and the view that family environment is unimportant are incorrect.
Where it appears
University examples
Examples show documented structures. They are not a ranking, a census, or a statement about admission or licensing.
In the Psy101 course
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 7.6: The Source of IntelligenceChapter 7, Thinking and Intelligence. Topic reading. The section discusses this topic.Covers heritability, twin studies including the Minnesota study, and genes versus environment for intelligence.
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 11.6: Biological ApproachesChapter 11, Personality. Topic reading. The section discusses this topic.Covers twin studies, heritability of personality traits and polygenic influence.
This is course relevance only. It is not evidence for the historical or practice claims on this page.See the full course map.
Sources and inspection
3 of 3 sources were opened and read at the level shown. A source marked as not verified supports no claim on this page by itself.
- [1]Behavior Genetics AssociationBehavior Genetics Association, undated. Professional association. Supports the definition of the area.Selected text readRead the society's self-description page as returned by the fetch tool: founding year, purpose, training and public communication, journal name. The sibling address bga.org returned 403.
- [2]Genetic and environmental influences on human psychological differencesJournal of Neurobiology (record on University of Minnesota Experts), 2003. Review article. Supports the description of methods.Abstract onlyRead the abstract (Thomas J. Bouchard and Matt McGue, vol. 54, no. 1, 2003); the full article was not read.
- [3]Three Laws of Behavior Genetics and What They MeanCurrent Directions in Psychological Science (Association for Psychological Science), 2000. Review article. Supports the description of methods.Abstract onlyRead the abstract page (Eric Turkheimer, vol. 9, issue 5, 2000); the full article was not opened.
Independent source review: Claude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. Verdict: Admitted after corrections. Of 8 claims checked, 7 were supported as written, 0 were reworded and 1 were removed.