EFN

A study led by researchers at Harvard University Medical School and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has found that the answer to why some people are highly social and popular, while others are shy and on the edge of their social groups, may lie in their genes.

Researchers Nicholas Christakis of Harvard and Christopher Dawes and James Fowler of UCSD studied a number of indicators related to popularity and social status among 1,110 identical and fraternal twins. Identical twins have 100% matching genetic makeups, while fraternal twins tend to exhibit approximately 50% matching genes. Thus, twin studies are often used to draw conclusions related to hereditary factors that determine health, mental or social traits.

This study, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that identical twins exhibited significantly greater similarities in their popularity and social networks when compared to the same indicators in fraternal twins. Thus, drawing the conclusion that genes play a significant role in popularity, social networks and social status.

This study further indicates that genes not only influence how social we are and who we select as friends, but that the genetic governance of friend selection also influences whether or not the friends we choose will also become friends. This affects whether or not an individual will be in the center of complex social network.

The researchers believe this study may support the idea that this genetic influence may be evolution at work and that this evolutionary aspect helps to determine our social position and who we come into contact with.