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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–11Cite as

Behavioral Genetics

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Synonyms

Behavior genetics

Definition

The study of how genes and environments contribute to behavioral variation.

Introduction

Behavioral (or behavior) genetics has a long past, dating back to the breeding of animals for behavioral characteristics. For example, some 50 different breeds of dogs are mentioned in surviving Greek and Roman documents, in such behaviorally distinct categories as hunting dogs, shepherd dogs, guard dogs, war dogs, and pets (Brewer et al. 2001).

The present account of behavior genetics will, however, be primarily focused on differences among individuals, not breeds. It will chiefly address individual differences among humans. Work with other species – in laboratories and in the wild – will be mentioned, but not reviewed in detail. For a more comprehensive account of both human and animal behavior genetics and the biological background, the reader may wish to consult a standard textbook on behavior genetics, such as Plomin et al. (2013).

The behavior genetic...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    John C. Loehlin

Authors
  1. John C. Loehlin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John C. Loehlin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Julie Schermer

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Loehlin, J.C. (2017). Behavioral Genetics. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_734-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_734-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Behavioral Genetics
    Published:
    05 April 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_734-2

  2. Original

    Behavioral Genetics
    Published:
    15 December 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_734-1

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