As we develop, the company we keep may be increasingly influenced by our genes, according to a new study led by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers. Researchers report that as individuals develop, genes become increasingly important in influencing how they choose their peer groups.
What this research also showed, was that while it might be expected that genes affect personality, these findings go further and illustrate, that our particular location in vast social networks has a genetic basis. "In fact, the beautiful and complicated pattern of human connection depends on our genes to a significant measure", stated one of the researchers.
It talked about the tendency of an individual to be at the center or on the edges of the group, being genetically linked.
The researchers compared the social networks of the identical twins to those of the fraternal twins, and found greater similarity between the identical twins' social network structure than the fraternal twins' networks.
There may be an evolutionary explanation for this genetic influence and the tendency for some people to be at the center while others are at the edges of the group, according to the researchers. If a deadly germ is spreading through a community, individuals at the edges are least likely to be exposed. However, to gain access to important information, being in the center of the group has a distinct benefit.
And using computer models- that simulate actual human social networks, they found that when someone was placed in any virtual network, they gravitated towards the same place within the network, as they do in real life.
