Does the political thought inherit? "Liberal genes" are discovered

There are words of the second and third generation members, but such politicians are often the same political parties or generationsMaintenance,From generation to generationliberalThere are a lot of cases that we often strike political ideas and fundamental stance to deal with things, such as support base.

In Japan, political parties are relatively fragmented, policies of each party also have a sense to change according to the times, so it may not be a little support of "party support a couple of generations", but in Republican Party and Democratic Party of the two major parties " In the United States etc. where the image such as Republicans = Maintenance 」" Democratic Party = Liberal "has become established, there are times when there are cases where voters are not only politicians but maintenance-oriented and liberal in family-friendly terms.

Of course, the parts that will be affected by parents afterwards through the environment that I grew up and the education I received are great, but in reality the political attitude seems to be part of the genes.

Details are as below.Researchers Find a 'Liberal Gene'

University of California, San DiegoDr. James Fowler et al., Professor of Political Science and Genetical Medicine, conducted research based on 2000 data,Dopamine receptorD4People who have a specific type of DRD4 gene that is responsible for it are found to be more liberal than those who do not. However, this seems to be limited to cases where the owner of the gene was engaged in social life with a lot of involvement with people at puberty.

DopamineIs a neurotransmitter involved in the control of exercise, the emotional reaction to things, the ability to feel pleasure and pain, etc. However, among specific genes encoding the D4 receptor, which is one of the receptors for this dopamine, , Novelty exploratory behaviors (so-called "new things") has been shown in previous studies. And the relationship between this "new things" personality and politically liberal things is also shown.

Professors Fowler et al. Hypothesized that the owner of the "newer likes" genes should be more interested in the viewpoints of friends and things. As a result, those who own this gene and have friends who are larger than average will have access to diverse social norms and lifestyles, leading to the formation of liberal ideas.

"The genetic predisposition and the environmental factors that there were many friends at puberty, the interaction of the two elements is related to liberal," researchers say. This trend seems to have been confirmed regardless of race, culture, sex and age.

"This finding suggests that political affiliation is not determined only by the social environment that people experience," Professor Fowler said. We conclude that the role played by genes should also be taken into consideration as it is not possible to explain individual political attitudes and beliefs alone in the social environment.


"The next step is to conduct similar investigations in different populations and age groups, as more researchers begin to focus on the interaction between biological factors and the environment involved in the formation of political attitudes I am hoping, "Professor Fowler says.