There may be politics in your genes!

The PID is among the most studied concepts in modern political science and scholars have long held that it was the result of socialisation factors,including influence of parents,but the possibility that it could be transmitted genetically was not considered and largely left untested.

However,using quantitative genetic models,the authors – John R Alford,John R Hibbing,Nicholas G Martin and Lindon J Eaves – have examined the sources and the intensity of party identification.

Together with recent examinations of political attitudes and vote choice,their findings provided a more complete picture of the source of partisanship and the complex nature of the political phenotype.

The article was presented at a mini-symposium – ‘The Scientific Analysis of Politics’ where scholars,using evolutionary psychological and biological frameworks provided fresh approaches to the study of politics and political behaviour.