An international consortium of researchers found that more than 1,200 different genetic variants are associated with the Big Five personality traits — and surprisingly, these personality genetics are linked to dozens of life outcomes.
This study, led by the Revived Genomics of Personality Consortium, combined results from 46 different research cohorts around the world. Participants in each cohort provided a DNA sample and completed a questionnaire that measured the Big Five personality traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These Big Five personality traits are relatively stable and habitual differences in how people think, feel and act. These DNA samples were then linked to differences in people’s personality traits.
Researchers say the findings point to an interconnected relationship between genetics and the environment. For example, the study found that common genetic variants linked to openness to experience predicted that a person would move to more cosmopolitan neighborhoods. In turn, living in those neighborhoods may reinforce and further shape that same trait.