Socio-Genomic Research Using Genome-Wide Molecular Data

Abstract

Recent advances in molecular genetics have provided social scientists with new tools with which to explore human behavior. By deploying genomic analysis, we can now explore long-term patterns of human migration and mating, explore the biological aspects of important sociological outcomes such as educational attainment, and, most importantly, model gene-by-environment interaction effects. The intuition motivating much socio-genomic research is that to have a more complete understanding of social life, scholars must take into consideration both nature and nurture as well as their interplay. Most promising is gene-by-environment research that deploys polygenic measures of genotype as a prism through which to refract and detect heterogenous treatment effects of plausibly exogenous environmental influences. This article reviews much recent work in this vein and argues for a broader integration of genomic data into social inquiry.