Studies|Heredity affects personality and that in turn affects the choice of field. The study included information on almost half a million people from Finland, Norway and the Netherlands.
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
Extensive research shows that genetic factors have little to do with what field of study an individual chooses.
The researchers identified 17 individual genetic factors associated with a field of study.
Associate professor Andrea Ganna from the University of Helsinki states that genes affect personality and thus also the choice of field of study.
The researchers emphasize that the field of education cannot be predicted from genes. The environment also has an effect.
To study the choice of field affects earnings, well-being and even the number of children. And what opportunities there are to advance in your career.
The decision on the field is therefore not always easy. Does an individual’s inheritance also influence which career he chooses?
A large international study shows for the first time that heredity has an effect, a little. An individual’s genetic factors have connections to which field of study he chooses.
Helsinki the university was involved in a study that analyzed genetic data and education data obtained from national registers.
Information was obtained from approximately 460,000 people from Norway, Finland and the Netherlands.
The study was carried out by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from the same countries.
Its results were published by a respected science journal Nature Genetics. The research also benefited from the Finnish FinnGen research material.
In the study, the spectrum of education was classified into ten broad fields of education. Such were, for example, health, information and communication technologies, arts and natural sciences.
Researchers identified 17 individual genetic factors from the genetic material that were related to some field of education.
Four points of the genealogy related to the health sector were identified by those who chose that field, one in technical fields.
The researchers modeled and described the links between genes and fields of study through individual tendencies that are specific to different fields of study.
One dimension separates trainings that emphasize technical and social skills. The second dimension measures theoretical trainings and practical trainings.
From these you get a square where the emphasis of different fields is visible.
“Genes affects our personality, and that affects what we study”, says In the announcement of the University of Helsinki reader Andrea Ganna from the University of Helsinki.
“We can now detect these connections more clearly than before, directly from our DNA.”
Gene profiles related to educational fields show a statistical association. They are therefore correlated with other human characteristics.
The connection can be found, for example, in character traits, mental health and general health.
Researchers according to the observed connections between genes and education apparently reflect the more general effect of genes on the individual. That is, to his life choices and tendencies.
However, the results should not be overinterpreted, the researchers emphasize.
Genes therefore do not in themselves determine an individual’s choice of field of study. They cannot be used for prediction.
The connections are statistically significant, but still weak. The importance of the social and cultural environment in choosing an educational field is still strong.
The choice of the field of education can be greatly influenced by gender expectations and roles, the average salary level of the field, or even an individual teacher.
Research is an example of how one problem can be approached from many angles.
“We hope that the study will encourage a more diverse discussion than before about how people find their way in life,” says the lead author of the study Rosa Cheesman from the University of Oslo according to the website Phys.org.
“It’s not about predicting careers based on DNA. It’s about identifying how interests, talents and opportunities work together.”