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Journalism of Courage
Is there politics in your genes? Your answer may be negative,but American scientist believe that genetics play a pivotal role in shaping how individual’s identify with political parties.
According to an article published in journal Political Research Quarterly,Political Party Identification (PID) could be transmitted genetically rather than socially.
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.
