A 30-nation investigation of lay heritability beliefs.

ABSTRACT: Lay beliefs about human trait heritability are consequential for cooperation and social cohesion, yet there has been no global characterisation of these beliefs. Participants from 30 countries (N = 6128) reported heritability beliefs for intelligence, personality, body weight and criminality, and transnational factors that could influence these beliefs were explored using public nation-level data. Globally, mean lay beliefs differ from published heritability (h²) estimated by twin studies, with a worldwide majority overestimating the heritability of personality and intelligence, and underestimating body weight and criminality. Criminality was seen as substantially less attributable to genes than other traits. People from countries with high infant mortality tended

SUBMITTER: Ferris LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11528883 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature