It Is Not Only the Environment That Matters: A Short Introduction to Research on the Heritability of Political Attitudes
| Author | Mateusz Wajzer,Wojciech Łukasz Dragan |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211053780 |
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Subject Matter | State of the Art — Review Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211053780
Political Studies Review
2023, Vol. 21(1) 144 –161
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/14789299211053780
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It Is Not Only the Environment
That Matters: A Short
Introduction to Research on
the Heritability of Political
Attitudes
Mateusz Wajzer1 and Wojciech Łukasz Dragan2
Abstract
In the article, we review key methodological issues and study results on the heritability of political
attitudes. These studies show to what degree the variance of observed attitudes can be explained
by genetic variance. We have analysed studies differing in terms of applied methods, techniques
and research tools, as well as sample populations of different age and sex structures. Regardless
of these differences, the studies show that political attitudes are most likely influenced to some
extent by genetic factors. This research suggests that the influence of genes on attitudes is subject
to change over the life cycle. It also provides knowledge regarding the mechanisms that may
link genes and attitudes. The studies conducted to date offer the opportunity to broaden the
culturalism-based explanations of political attitudes with biological aspects; however, they also
point to several issues that will require additional attention from the researchers.
Keywords
heritability, political attitudes, twin studies, behavioural genetics, genes
Accepted: 29 September 2021
Introduction
It is usually assumed in social sciences that the process of forming political attitudes1
occurs under the dominant influence of the social environment. For this reason, many
political scientists, sociologists or psychologists studying political attitudes, focus on the
influence of family (Dalhouse and Fideres, 1996; Jennings and Niemi, 1968; Jennings
1Institute of Political Science, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
2Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Corresponding author:
Mateusz Wajzer, Institute of Political Science, University of Silesia in Katowice, Bankowa 11, PL 40007
Katowice, Poland.
Email: mateusz.wajzer@us.edu.pl
1053780PSW0010.1177/14789299211053780Political Studies ReviewWajzer and Dragan
research-article2021
State of the Art – Review Articles
Wajzer and Dragan 145
et al., 2009; Tedin, 1974), school (Goldenson, 1978; Koskimaa and Rapeli, 2015), work-
place environment (Andrews, 1998; Lipsitz, 1964), voluntary associations (Cigler and
Joslyn, 2002; Hanks, 1981), religious and ethnic groups (Hayes, 1995; Hoffmann and
Miller, 1997; Laumann and Segal, 1971) or the mass media (Kim and Johnson, 2006;
Zhang et al., 2009), while ignoring or marginalising the influence of biological factors. At
the same time, the proposition
that people could be born with political predispositions strikes many as far-fetched, odd, even
perverse. However, researchers in other disciplines – notably behavioural genetics – have
uncovered a substantial heritable component for many social attitudes and behaviours and it
seems unlikely that political attitudes and behaviours are completely immune from such forces
(Alford et al., 2005: 153).
Hypotheses regarding the genetic basis of political attitudes have appeared in literature
since the 1970s (Merelman, 1971); however, they had not very often been subjected to
empirical verification (Bouchard et al., 2003; Eaves et al., 1999; McCourt et al., 1999;
Martin et al., 1986). A breakthrough in the studies on the heritability of political attitudes2
occurred in 2005, when three American political scientists, Alford, Funk and Hibbing,
published the article ‘Are political orientations genetically transmitted?’ in the American
Political Science Review. Since then, the development of genopolitical research has
accelerated significantly; however, as demonstrated by our analysis, this field of study
still remains a relatively small part of the entire body of political, sociological and psy-
chological research.3 Studies of the heritability of political attitudes involve estimating
the magnitude of the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the variance of
the measured attitude (Alford et al., 2005; Bell et al., 2009, 2018; Funk et al., 2013;
Hatemi et al., 2009, 2010; Hufer et al., 2020; Kalmoe and Johnson, 2021; Loewen and
Dawes, 2012; Settle et al., 2009). In addition, the researchers are interested in the mecha-
nisms linking genes and political attitudes (de Vries et al., 2021; Friesen and Ksiazkiewicz,
2015; Kleppestø et al., 2019; Ksiazkiewicz and Friesen, 2019; Ksiazkiewicz and Krueger,
2017; Ksiazkiewicz et al., 2016; Lewis and Bates, 2014; Oniszczenko and Jakubowska,
2005; Oskarsson et al., 2015; Smith et al., 2011; Verhulst et al., 2010; Verhulst et al.,
2012a, 2012b; Weinschenk et al., 2019) as well as the relationships between specific
genetic markers and the analysed attitudes (Benjamin et al., 2012; Hatemi et al., 2011,
2014; Settle et al., 2010).
This article aims to review key methodological issues and studies on the heritability of
political attitudes. Below, we discuss the heritability studies’ general assumptions, explain
what heritability means, characterise research methods and analyse the results of selected
studies on the heritability of political attitudes (see Appendix 1 for literature selection
criteria). Ultimately, we present the most pertinent conclusions from these considerations.
Since this article is designed to serve as an introduction to the issue, it would be a worth-
while addition to read works addressing the issues discussed herein (see Dawes and
Weinschenk, 2020; Hannagan, 2011; Hatemi and McDermott, 2012; Hatemi et al., 2012;
Ksiazkiewicz and Friesen, 2017; Medland and Hatemi, 2009).
General Research Assumptions
In heritability studies, it is assumed that differences in attitudes and behaviours in the study
population are dictated by the influence of both genetic and environmental factors. Attitudes
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