London, November 1 (ANI): A team led by University of Colorado Boulder researchers has found that genetic similarities may help to explain why human birds of a feather flock together, but the full story of why people become friends "is contingent upon the social environment in which individuals interact with one another."

People are more likely to befriend genetically similar people when their environment is stratified, when disparate groups are discouraged from interacting, the study found.

When environments were more egalitarian, friends were less likely to share certain genes.

Scientists debate the extent to which genetics or environmental factors-"nature" or "nurture"-predict certain behaviours, said Jason Boardman, associate professor of sociology and faculty research associate with the Population Program in CU-Boulder's Institute of Behavioral Science.

"For all the social demographic outcomes we care about, whether it's fertility, marriage, migration, health, it's never nature or nurture. It's always nature and nurture. And most of the time it has a lot more to do with nurture," he said.

Boardman's team included Benjamin Domingue, research associate in the Population Program at IBS; and Jason Fletcher, associate professor of health policy at the Yale School of Public Health.

Early last year, PNAS published a study reporting evidence that certain shared genes might determine peoples' choice of friends. Time magazine dubbed this "friends with (genetic) benefits."

Boardman is a sociologist who spent five years studying genetics at CU-Boulder's Institute for Behavioral Genetics to bring insights of the social sciences to the natural sciences.

The research team used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Boardman's team focused on 1,503 pairs of friends in seventh through 12th grade in 41 schools. As with the earlier study, Boardman's group found that some pairs of friends shared certain genetic characteristics.

The team tested the evidence, arguing that if genes were the driving friendship factor, genetically based friendship should emerge most often and easily in schools with the least amount of social friction.

Originally posted here:
Both genetics and environment influence peoples' choice of friends

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