WaPo<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\nSo here\u2019s our question: You probably don\u2019t know if you have the 7R version of the DRD4 gene, but (1) are you a liberal and (2) did you have lots of friends in high school (and a risk taker)?<\/strong><\/p>\nIs there a gene for liberals? Well, not quite, but scientists say they have found the first evidence that a gene can play a role in shaping an individual\u2019s political leanings.<\/p>\n
In this case, it appears a variation of a gene known as DRD4, which had previously been linked to risk-taking behavior, also makes people more likely to be liberal. But there\u2019s a catch: That\u2019s only the case if they had a lot of friends when they were in high school\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u2026 They found that people with the \u201c7R\u201d version of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be liberal as adults, but only if they had an active social life when they were adolescents\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u2026 They add: \u201cWe do not claim that this evidence proves a causal relationship between DRD4 and political ideology. However, the association is consistent with a causal theory that we develop about the ways genes and environments combine to affect political ideology.\u201d Just having the gene does not make a person liberal, nor does \u201csimply having a greater numbr of friends as teenager,\u201d they said. The gene also does not cause an individual to have more friends. \u201cRather it is the crucial interaction of two factors\u201d\u2013having the gene and having many friends\u2013\u201cthat is associated with being liberal.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, not completely, but there\u2019s an environment of adolescent social life and a gene\u2026 and it correlates with being a liberal. From WaPo. So here\u2019s our question: You probably don\u2019t know if you have the 7R version of the DRD4 gene, but (1) are you a liberal and (2) did you have lots of friends […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1732],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-issues"],"yoast_head":"\n
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