Abstract
Polygenic scores for educational attainment and related variables, such as IQ and “mathematical ability” are now readily available via direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies. Some researchers are even proposing the use of genetic tests in educational settings via “precision education,” in which individualized student education plans would be tailored to polygenic scores. The potential psychosocial impacts of polygenic scores for traits and outcomes relevant to education, however, have not been assessed. In online experiments, we asked participants to imagine hypothetical situations in which they or their classmates had recently received polygenic scores for educational attainment. Participants prompted to answer multi-choice questions as though they had received their own low-percentile score, compared to a control condition, scored significantly lower on measures of self-esteem and of self-perceived competence, academic efficacy, and educational potential. Similarly, those asked to evaluate a hypothetical classmate as though the classmate had received a low-percentile score attributed significantly lower academic efficacy and educational potential, compared to a control condition. Through possible mechanisms of stigma and self-fulfilling prophecies, our results highlight the potential psychosocial harms of exposure to low-percentile polygenic scores for educational attainment.
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This research was made possible by funding from The Hastings Center, the Columbia University Center for Research on the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic and Behavioral Genetics (National Institutes of health grant, RM1HG007257), and a Columbia Precision Medicine and Society Pilot Grant Award. This research was conducted as part of postdoctoral training for Lucas J. Matthews
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This research was conducted with pilot funding from a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (RM1HG007257).
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Matthews, L.J., Lebowitz, M.S., Ottman, R. et al. Pygmalion in the genes? On the potentially negative impacts of polygenic scores for educational attainment. Soc Psychol Educ 24, 789–808 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09632-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09632-z