Are Political Discussion Behaviors Heritable?: Using Twin Data to Examine Genetic Effects on Traditional and Mediated Political Talk

• In Event: Biological Approaches to Political Communication: What Can Our Genes, Eyes, Brain, and Skin Tell Us?

Abstract

Political discussion has largely been investigated within an effects paradigm as either a mediator of news media influence or an independent predictor of political outcomes such as issue learning, efficacy, and participation. To better understand conditions in which discussion effects operate, this study instead examines trait-based mechanisms that motivate individuals to engage in—or avoid—political talk in the first place. Using original twin study survey data and a behavior genetics framework that leverages comparisons between the behaviors of fraternal and identical twin pairs, this article shows latent genetic traits account for between 25% and 64% of the variance in several discussion measures, including traditional and online discussion, as well as discussion with disagreement. The results suggest that, in addition to environmental factors (e.g., parent and peer influence), a latent genetic mechanism may help explain why some individuals tend to be consistently “discussion seeking” while others are “discussion avoidant.”

Author

• Chance York, Kent State U