An international team of scientists conducted a study encompassing more than one million participants worldwide, with results revealing more than 1,200 genetic variants directly linked to the main dimensions of personality.
By analysing DNA samples and questionnaires, five main dimensions of personality were assessed: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The study showed that there is no single "personality gene". Each individual genetic variant has an extremely small effect, but when their effects are summed, they create clear and noticeable patterns.
The results showed consistency of these patterns on a global level. The same genetic variants linked to extraversion in a younger person in Europe were equally predictive of extraversion in an older retiree in America. Further comparisons within families confirmed that these links are not merely the result of shared upbringing or environment.
Genetic patterns associated with personality overlap with many other areas of life, including physical and mental health, longevity, education, and even career choice. Variants linked to conscientiousness typically coincide with higher daily activity. On the other hand, openness to experience and extraversion are more frequent among people who lean towards an evening lifestyle.
Associations were also observed in health outcomes. Genetic variants linked to neuroticism showed a connection with more frequent hospital stays. Variants related to openness to experience were linked to more frequent job changes, higher incomes, and a tendency to relocate to urban, cosmopolitan environments.
