Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T08:42:37.589Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Postgenomics and genetic essentialism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2012

Ilan Dar-Nimrod*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. ilan.dar-nimrod@sydney.edu.au

Abstract

Traditional lay perceptions of genetics are plagued with essentialist biases leading to some unfortunate consequences. Changes in the scientific understanding of heredity in general, and in genotype–phenotype relationships more specifically, provide a vital basis for shifting public understanding of genetics. Facilitating postgenomic literacy among the public has the potential to have translational implications in diminishing deleterious attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beauchamp, M. R., Rhodes, R. E., Kreutzer, C. & Rupert, J. L. (2011) Experiential versus genetic accounts of inactivity: Implications for inactive individuals' self-efficacy beliefs and intentions to exercise. Behavioral Medicine 37(1):814.Google Scholar
Brescoll, V. & LaFrance, M. (2004) The correlates and consequences of newspaper reports of research on sex differences. Psychological Science 15(8):515–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conrad, P. (1997) Public eyes and private genes: Historical frames, news constructions, and social problems. Social Problems 44:139–54.Google Scholar
Conrad, P. (2001) Genetic optimism: Framing genes and mental illness in the news. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 25(2):225–47.Google Scholar
Dar-Nimrod, I. (2007) Math ability in women – nature versus nurture. Nano Today 2(3):56.Google Scholar
Dar-Nimrod, I. & Heine, S. J. (2006) Exposure to scientific theories affects women's math performance. Science 314(5798):435.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dar-Nimrod, I. & Heine, S. J. (2011) Genetic essentialism: On the deceptive determinism of DNA. Psychological Bulletin 137(5):800–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dar-Nimrod, I., Heine, S. J., Cheung, B. Y. & Schaller, M. (2011) Do scientific theories affect men's evaluations of sex crimes? Aggressive behavior 37(5):440–49.Google Scholar
Dougherty, M. J. (2009) Closing the gap: Inverting the genetics curriculum to ensure an informed public. The American Journal of Human Genetics 85(1):612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, B. J. & Maguire, B. T. (2000) Three lay mental models of disease inheritance. Social Science and Medicine 50(2):293301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heyman, G. D. & Gelman, S. A. (2000) Preschool children's use of trait labels to make inductive inferences. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 77(1):119.Google Scholar
Keller, J. (2005) In genes we trust: The biological component of psychological essentialism and its relationship to mechanisms of motivated social cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 88(4): 686702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landau, E. (2010, September 29) ADHD is a genetic condition, study says. Retrieved on November 29, 2011 from http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/29/adhd-is-a-genetic-condition-study-says/.Google Scholar
Moè, A. & Pazzaglia, F. (2010) Beyond genetics in Mental Rotation Test performance: The power of effort attribution. Learning and Individual Differences 20(5):464–68.Google Scholar
Monterosso, J., Royzman, E. B. & Schwartz, B. (2005) Explaining away responsibility: Effects of scientific explanation on perceived culpability. Ethics and Behavior 15(2):139–58.Google Scholar
Williams, N. M., Zaharieva, I., Martin, A., Langley, K., Mantripragada, K., Fossdal, R., Stefansson, H., Stefansson, K., Magnusson, P., Gudmundsson, O. O., Gustafsson, O., Holmans, P., Owen, M. J., O'Donovan, M. & Thapar, A. (2010) Rare chromosomal deletions and duplications in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A genome-wide analysis. Lancet 376(9750):1401–408.Google Scholar