Largest genetic study of personality finds 1,260 linked DNA variants

Scientists have identified 1,260 common DNA variants associated with one or more of the five widely studied dimensions of personality. More than 800 of the links had not been reported before, giving researchers a much larger foundation for investigating how biology and life experience jointly shape human behaviour.

The analysis, published in Nature, combined 46 cohorts containing between 611,000 and 1.14 million participants, depending on the trait examined. Each participant had completed questionnaires measuring extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience.

Common genetic variants collectively accounted for about 5% to 16% of the variation in these traits among participants, depending on the trait and analytical method. Each individual variant had only a tiny influence, so the findings cannot reliably predict a person’s character from their DNA. Comparisons involving relatives also found little evidence that a shared family environment was responsible for the reported genetic associations.

The researchers further connected personality-related variants with patterns in health and daily life, including smoking, activity and infection risk. These correlations do not establish that personality causes those outcomes, but they offer new ways to study how genetics, behaviour and environment interact.