GWAS of 1.14 Million People Identifies 1,260 Loci Linking Personality and DNA
A GWAS of 1.14 million people identifies 1,260 genetic markers linked to personality in an international study published in Nature.
Based on an article by Briar Wormington, Postdoctoral Researcher in Translational Neurogenomics, QIMR Berghofer, reported in The Conversation - Technology
Personality is something we all share, but the different ways we think and feel also make us unique.
Our new study, published in Nature, has linked personality with more than 1,200 common genetic variants, highlighting its central role in understanding human experience.
We found 1,260 genetic markers associated with the Big Five, including 824 not found in previous studies. Between 5 and 16% of variation in personality can be explained by common genetic variants.
Editorial Opinion
In the short term, we expect the identification of markers on the scale of 1,260 loci in this study to prompt re-analysis of existing biobanks and cohort studies. The predictive accuracy of polygenic scores for personality traits will be validated, and their application for stratification in mental health and behavioral research may be tested. We assess that companies and research institutions will need to review their frameworks for data linkage with consideration for consent and privacy. In the long term, we see potential for understanding the genetic basis of personality to influence adaptive support in education and the workplace, and the personalization of mental health interventions. The fact that genetic influence remains at 5–16% and that environmental factors carry greater weight can be seen as a check against deterministic interpretations. As the integration of genomic information and behavioral data progresses, the development of norms to prevent its use for discrimination or selection is likely to become important. Regarding evaluation methods for data-driven research, the perspectives on validating large-scale models discussed in OpenAI Announces GPT-5.6: Three Models — Sol, Terra, and Luna are also considered useful as a reference.
References
- “Huge genetic study finds strong links between DNA and personality traits”, by Briar Wormington, Postdoctoral Researcher in Translational Neurogenomics, QIMR Berghofer — The Conversation - Technology, 2026-09-02T20:08:29.000Z (CC BY-ND)
- Source URL: https://theconversation.com/huge-genetic-study-finds-strong-links-between-dna-and-personality-traits-290861
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Big Five?
- It is a framework that describes personality as a continuous spectrum across five factors — extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Unlike typological classifications such as Myers-Briggs, it captures individual differences on a graded scale and is therefore widely used in research.
- What is new about this study?
- An integrated GWAS of 46 studies involving 1.14 million participants identified 1,260 genetic markers associated with the Big Five, 824 of which were novel. Common genetic variants were found to explain 5–16% of the variation in personality.
- Is personality determined by genetics?
- Genetics plays a certain role, but most of the variation is due to environmental factors. The study indicates that the influence of the environment shared within families is limited, and that individual-specific experiences and environments are important.
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