DNA Variants and Personality Traits

In one of the largest studies of personality genetics so far, scientists identified more than 1,200 DNA variants connected to five major personality traits.

Common genetic variants may explain up to about 13% of the differences in some personality traits across a population. Researchers also found small links between genetic tendencies for certain traits and later behaviors, from drug use and antisocial behavior to where people choose to live in middle age.

These links are small, however, and do not mean that genes decide a particular person's character, behavior, or life choices.