Behavioural-genetic perspectives on personality function.

In the wake of the recent announcements that the human genome has been mapped, efforts to identify the genetic loci underlying personality function will grow and intensify. Much research has already been done in this area, but it has for the most part been limited to classical biometrical approaches designed to determine if personality has a heritable basis. These so-called "heritability" studies estimate how much of the individual differences in personality are attributable to genetic differences among people. Molecular-genetic approaches, on the other hand, are designed to identify specific putative loci, but have yielded mixed results. The inconsistency in research findings can be attributed in part to the lack of sufficient numbers of genetic markers in the chromosomal regions of interest--a problem that the creation of a map of the human genome will help to rectify. This map and its inevitable refinements, however, can only advance the search for the genes for personality to a limited degree. Serious unresolved problems in the conceptualization and definition of personality and its dysfunction remain, which will hamper the search for personality genes.