Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 11, 2025
06:52
Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
6.4K
A polygenic score for educational attainment partially predicts voter turnout
Christopher T Dawes1, Aysu Okbay2, Sven Oskarsson3
1Wilf Family Department of Politics, New York University, New York, NY 10012; cdawes@nyu.edu.
Summary
Genetic factors influence political participation. Genes linked to education significantly predict voter turnout, especially in less prominent elections, mediated by educational attainment and cognitive ability.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Genetics
- Political Science
- Sociogenomics
Background:
- Twin and adoption studies indicate genetic influences on political participation.
- Previous research designs lack the precision to identify specific genes or pathways.
- Restrictive assumptions in older studies limit understanding of genetic contributions to voting behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between genes related to educational attainment and voter turnout.
- To explore the mediating roles of educational attainment and cognitive ability in this relationship.
- To examine genetic influences on political participation across different electoral contexts.
Main Methods:
- Utilized three US and one Swedish sample for genetic association analyses.
- Employed polygenic scores derived from genetic variants associated with educational attainment.
- Conducted within-family and mediation analyses to assess direct genetic effects and pathways.
Main Results:
- A polygenic score for education was significantly associated with voter turnout.
- The strongest genetic associations were observed in second-order midterm (US) and European Parliament (Sweden) elections.
- Educational attainment and cognitive ability mediated 41-63% of the genetic effect on turnout.
Conclusions:
- Genetic propensity for education is a significant predictor of voter turnout.
- Genetic nurture plays a role in second-order elections, alongside direct genetic effects.
- Education-linked genes influence political participation through educational attainment and cognitive ability.
Related Concept Videos
01:18Polygenic Traits
67.0K
When more than one gene is responsible for a given phenotype, the trait is considered polygenic. Human height is a polygenic trait. Studies have uncovered hundreds of loci that influence height, and there are believed to be many more. Due to the high number of genes involved, as well as environmental and nutritional factors, height varies significantly within a given population. The distribution of height forms a bell-shaped curve, with relatively few individuals in the population at the...
67.0K
01:33Pleiotropy
41.5K
Pleiotropy is the phenomenon in which a single gene impacts multiple, seemingly unrelated phenotypic traits. For example, defects in the SOX10 gene cause Waardenburg Syndrome Type 4, or WS4, which can cause defects in pigmentation, hearing impairments, and an absence of intestinal contractions necessary for elimination. This diversity of phenotypes results from the expression pattern of SOX10 in early embryonic and fetal development. SOX10 is found in neural crest cells that form melanocytes,...
41.5K
01:30Biological Influences on Intelligence
260
Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter...
260
01:06Heritability
357
Heritability is a statistical concept that measures the degree to which genetic differences among individuals contribute to trait variations within a population. It is a fundamental idea in genetics, often prone to misinterpretation. Heritability is expressed as a percentage, reflecting the proportion of variation in a specific trait across a population that can be linked to genetic differences. However, it's important to understand that heritability does not determine how "genetic"...
357
01:29Environmental Influences on Intelligence
494
Despite the strong genetic influence on traits like intelligence, environmental factors significantly shape outcomes. For example, while over 90% of height variation is due to genetic differences, environmental factors such as nutrition also have a notable impact. Similarly, for intelligence, changes in a child's surroundings can significantly alter their IQ. Research shows that enriched environments boost children's academic success and help them develop key cognitive skills. Children...
494
01:26Longitudinal Studies
279
Longitudinal studies are also widely used in other medical and social science fields. For instance, in cardiovascular research, they can monitor patients' health over decades to identify risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or smoking, and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of preventive measures. Similarly, in mental health studies, researchers might follow individuals from adolescence into adulthood to understand the development and progression of conditions like...
279