The matter of scale

The genetic (and environmental) picture that emerges from a behavior genetic analysis is acknowledged to be a function of the scale upon which the particular trait being analyzed is measured. Differing views exist about how such data should be interpreted. The aim of the present paper is to air such issues and to emphasize that the reporting of substantive results, e.g. in psychiatric studies, should make clear that results are scale dependent, as this qualification may not be apparent to a psychiatric readership.