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Associations between dopamine and serotonin genes and job satisfaction: preliminary evidence from the Add Health
Zhaoli Song1, Wendong Li, Richard D Arvey
1Department of Management and Organization, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore. bizszl@nus.edu.sg
Abstract:
Previous behavioral genetic studies have found that job satisfaction is partially heritable. We went a step further to examine particular genetic markers that may be associated with job satisfaction. Using an oversample from the National Adolescent Longitudinal Study (Add Health Study), we found 2 genetic markers, dopamine receptor gene DRD4 VNTR and serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR, to be weakly but significantly associated with job satisfaction. Furthermore, we found study participants' level of pay to mediate the DRD4 and job satisfaction relationship. However, we found no evidence that self-esteem mediated the relationships between these 2 genes and job satisfaction. The study represents an initial effort to introduce a molecular genetics approach to the fields of organizational psychology and organizational behavior.
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