Family Study Supports Heritability of Extroversion

The data collected shows a statistically significant relationship between parent extroversion and

offspring extroversion.
 Abstract

This study aims to look at the extent to which sociability/extroversion is heritable

between parents and offspring. In order to address this question, a short survey was created and

filled out by 81 individuals that asked them to respond to two questions from the Ten Item

Personality Measure (TIPI) that pertained to extroversion and introversion (Gosling, 2003).

Respondents answered the questions for themselves and both of their biological parents, and

their scores were compiled and graphed on a scatterplot. Results show that there is a 95%

confidence interval for 0.59±0.29 degree of heritability regarding extroversion. These data

suggest that there is a high likelihood of a genetic basis for sociability, although confounding

variables such as shared environment could also explain some of the correlation.
 The nature versus nurture debate is an ongoing dilemma in several fields of science, and

the way a person behaves is just one area that is up for debate. Personality is one of the most

difficult aspects of a person to accurately analyze and map out in terms of its genetic

background. In connection with this, the question arises: to what extent is extroversion a

heritable trait passed down genetically from parents to offspring? I would hypothesize that there

is a degree of genetic heritability that accounts for extroversion of offspring, as children often

take after their parents in terms of their degree of sociability. However, there are also children

who are wildly different from either parent in terms of extroversion, so the heritability is most

likely not 100%.

To explore this question, a survey was posted on Facebook asking for respondents. The

survey contained two questions pulled from the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI)

established by Gosling in 2003. Question one asked the respondents to rate their agreement with

the statement “I am extroverted/enthusiastic” on a scale from 1 to 7, with one being “strongly

disagree” and 7 being “strongly agree”. The same scale was used for the second statement, “I

am reserved/quiet”. 81 individuals filled out the survey, answering the questions for themselves

as well as both of their biological parents. This sample size is large enough to ensure the data is

accurate for the population being studied. In order to keep the scoring system consistent between

parents and children, respondents were asked to rate their parents themselves rather than ask the

parents for their personal opinions. The inclusion of two opposing questions provided two

different ways of measuring extroversion, with the second question being reverse-scaled during

scoring (Gosling 2003). Scores ranged from 2 meaning “extremely introverted” to 14 meaning

“extremely extroverted”. The score of the offspring as well the average combining both parents’

scores were calculated. Once all the results were compiled, the data was graphed on a scatterplot
with the x-axis showing the midparent extroversion score, and the y-axis showing the

midoffspring extroversion score. Each dot on the scatterplot represents one respondent’s

answers, or one family. If the hypothesis is correct and there is a genetic basis for extroversion,

then there should be a positive correlation between midparent and midoffspring extroversion

scores (see Figure 1). If the hypothesis is incorrect, there should be no visible correlation

between midparent and midoffspring extroversion (see Figure 2).

The data compiled can be seen in Figure 3. This graph plots out each respondent’s score

along with their midparent score on a scatterplot. The trendline for the data illustrates a positive

correlation between midparent and midoffspring score, and statistical analysis shows that the

95% confidence interval for the slope is 0.59±0.29. This can be translated by saying that the

greater the midparent score is, the greater the midoffspring score is as well. These data reflect

how they would look if the hypothesis was correct (Figure 1), as both graphs show a positive

correlation between the two variables.

From these data, the claim that there is a genetic basis for one’s extroversion/sociability

is supported. However, this is not to say that all of an individual’s outgoingness can be

attributed to genes, as the data shows only a 0.59 degree of heritability. More likely,

environmental factors and interactions also have a large impact on someone’s rank of

extroversion, such as home and schooling environment, and the degree to which being outgoing

was encouraged or repressed from a young age. In addition, it is possible that the correlation

between midparent and offspring scores is due to the fact that parents tend to raise children in a

way that is similar to their own upbringing. This factor could skew the balance between how

much sociability is a result of upbringing versus genetics. Moreover, this study leaves room for

several confounding variables that could affect the results. For example, the study did not
control for age differences. In most people, it’s common that people’s degree of extroversion

changes over their lifetime. As a strength, the survey is supported by using official questions

from a published psychological research experiment (Gosling, 2003). However, it could be

argued that something as complex as one’s sociability cannot be accurately determined in only

two short questions, and that an accurate estimate would take a much lengthier questionnaire.

From this research, one unresolved question that remains is to what extent shared environment

during upbringing results in similar levels of extroversion and sociability?

With more time and money, this experimental design could be edited to yield more

definitive results about the heritability of extroversion. Rather than measuring for a parent-

offspring regression, a twin-study could be conducted to examine the difference in extroversion

between monozygotic and dizygotic twins. By doing so, the experiment will greatly reduce the

impact environment has on the results: while both sets of twins are raised in the same

environment, monozygotic twins are genetically identical, while dizygotic twins are less

genetically similar. Additionally, a more comprehensive survey could be created that will

produce a more telling result about the respondents’ personalities. If these additions and edits

are put in place, it can be hypothesized that there will still be a degree of heritability to

extroversion, but it will be less influential than shown in this study. If this hypothesis is correct,

then there should be a greater correlation between the extroversion scores of the monozygotic

twins compared to the dizygotic twins (Figure 4). However, if this hypothesis is incorrect and

there is no genetic basis, then the correlation between monozygotic extroversion scores should be

no greater than that of the dizygotic scores, suggesting any correlation has more to do with

shared environment than genes (Figure 5).

 Figures

Figure 1 Predicted Data Under the Hypothesis

This graph shows what the data should look like if the hypothesis is correct. The average scores

of both parents is shown on the x-axis, while the score of the offspring is on the y-axis. Each dot

on the scatterplot represents one respondent’s answers, and therefore one family. The solid line

represents a trendline fitting the data points. If extroversion is heritable, and thus passed down

genetically from parents to offspring, there should a positive correlation between the two

variables.
Figure 2 Predicted Data Under the Null Hypothesis

This scatterplot exemplifies what the data should look like if the hypothesis is incorrect. If there

is no genetic basis for extroversion, then there should be no significant correlation between

midparent score and midoffspring score, as shown by the lack of trendline.

Figure 3 Scatterplot of Survey Data

This scatterplot is created from the compiled data regarding the midparent extroversion score on

the x-axis, and the midoffspring score on the y-axis. Each blue dot represents a family, while the

blue line shows the line of best fit for the data. On bottom is the equation for the trendline,

which has a slope of 0.59.

Figure 4 Predicted Data Under the New Hypothesis

These scatterplots show what the data will look like if the hypothesis is correct. The graph on

the left graphs the extroversion scores of monozygotic twins, while the graph on the right does

the same for dizygotic twins. The score of one twin is represented on the x-axis, while the score

of the second twin is recorded on the y-axis. If there is a genetic component to extroversion,

then the correlation between the scores of the monozygotic twins should be stronger than the

correlation between the dizygotic twins.

Figure 5 Predicted Data Under the New Null Hypothesis

These graphs show what the data should look like if the hypothesis is incorrect. If there is no

genetic heritability for extroversion, then the correlation between monozygotic twins should not

be different than the correlation between dizygotic twins.

 Literature Cited

Gosling, Samuel et al. 2003. A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal

of Research in Personality 37: 504-528.