How DNA Makes Us Who We Are with Robert Plomin

Today it’s a great honor to have Dr. Robert Plomin on the podcast. Dr. Plomin is Professor of Behavioural Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London. He previously held positions at the University of Colorado Boulder and Pennsylvania State University. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and of the British Academy for his twin studies and his groundbreaking work in behavioral genetics. He is the author or coauthor of many books, including G is for Genes: The Impact of Genetics on Education and Achievement (with Kathryn Asbury), and most recently, BluePrint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss the following topics:

How Robert became interested in genetics
The importance of going “with the grain” of your nature
Robert’s twin studies methodology
How genotypes become phenotypes
How kids select their environments in ways that correlate with their genetic inclinations
The genetic influence on television viewing
How virtually everything is moderately heritable
The effects of extreme trauma on the brain
The developmental trajectory of heritability
How the abnormal is normal
How we could use polygenic information to inform educational interventions
The potential for misuse of genetic information to select children for particular educational tracks
Recent research on shared environmental influences on educational achievement
The “nature of nurture”
The variability of heritability across different cultures and levels of SES
The role of education on intelligence
How teachers can and cannot make a difference
The genetics of social class mobility
Free will and how we can change our destiny