From Genome-Wide to Environment-Wide: Capturing the Environome

Area of Science:

• Psychological Science
• Genetics
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Genome-wide association (GWA) studies reveal thousands of DNA variants influence psychological traits with small effect sizes.
• Digital technologies in psychological science now enable rich, real-time, naturalistic observation of environmental factors (the "environome").

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel framework for understanding and modeling environmental influences on complex phenotypes, drawing parallels with GWA studies.
• To explore how principles from genetic research can be applied to the study of the environome.

Main Methods:

• Analogy drawn between DNA microarrays in genetic research and digital data collection in psychological science.
• Conceptual framework proposed for analyzing large-scale environmental data to identify factors influencing affect, behavior, and cognition.

Main Results:

• Speculation that thousands of environmental elements, similar to DNA variants, influence psychological differences with very small effect sizes.
• The "environome" can be studied using methods analogous to those used for the genome.

Conclusions:

• Applying GWA study principles can significantly advance the understanding and modeling of environmental impacts on psychological traits.
• This approach offers a new perspective on the complex interplay between environment and individual differences.