How Does Genetics Influence Our Life Choices
It is well known that the genes we carry are responsible for much of what happens in our lives. The risk of certain diseases, for example, is largely determined by our genetic structure.
However, more and more scientists are wondering if our genetics is responsible for the choices we make in life, and if so, to what extent?
Could genes be responsible for some or even all aspects of personality, such as food preferences and the ability to maintain long-term relationships?
A lot of aspects of everyday life are at least partly determined by our genome.
For example, our preference to coffee or tea depends on genetic differences in our taste receptors.
Genetics also play a role in choosing the types of activities we enjoy doing. At a basic level, our genes determine how much we enjoy physical exercise and whether we prefer to practice individual or team sports.
Research shows that genes can be even more specific when it comes to our leisure activities.
A 15-year-old survey of 2,000 British adults suggests a "hobby gene" might be existing. The research shows a strong connection between the favorite activities of the respondents and the hobbies of their ancestors. Therefore, genes influence our natural inclination towards certain hobbies.
Quite probably genetic structure has a significant impact on personality traits.
According to psychiatry professor Danielle Dick, most personality traits such as extroversion or introversion, impulsiveness, creativity have some genetic component.
This, of course, does not mean that our DNA code is our destiny.
The environment we live in is also of great importance to our behaviour, i.e. whether we will act on our genetic urges or not.
Scientists study the interactions between genes and our environment to figure out whether our genes can influence other behaviour patterns, such as the ability to maintain a long-term relationship.
We are still at the very beginning of the road to understanding exactly how genes influence our actions. There are still too many questions to be answered.