Why this topic Personality tests are a genre now, and every one of them invites the question of where the answer comes from.
In the news
2026-09-02 · Michigan State University (Revived Genomics of Personality Consortium, 46 cohorts), published in Nature
Genetics Help Shape Personality and Life Path, Major Study Finds
Led by MSU's Ted Schwaba, combining 46 cohorts worldwide, this study found over 1,200 genetic variants linked to the Big Five personality traits -- and, notably, no single "personality gene": the effect is real but spread thin, the same pattern this page's own history of non-replicating single-gene claims would predict. Variants also partially predicted life outcomes like longevity, education and career path.
From our blog
What this topic connects to
Solid lines are connections this site curates. Dashed lines mean the two ends share a research paper — worth knowing, and not a claim that one explains the other.
Variants that share a paper with this
Counted in Europe PMC, where the title or abstract names both this topic and that rsID. The number is papers, not evidence of a cause.
rs6265
BDNF
Smoking behavior
11 papers →rs1006737
CACNA1C
Schizophrenia
2 papers →rs1799971
OPRM1
Opioid receptor sensitivity
2 papers →rs429358
APOE
Lewy body disease
2 papers →rs9939609
FTO
Menarche (age at onset)
2 papers →rs10994336
ANK3
Bipolar disorder
1 paper →rs10994359
ANK3
Autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia (combined)
1 paper →rs1801133
MTHFR
Folate metabolism (MTHFR C677T)
1 paper →rs2070600
AGER
Pulmonary function
1 paper →rs2075650
APOE
Alzheimer's disease (late onset)
1 paper →rs6943555
AUTS2
Alcohol consumption
1 paper →rs8176719
ABO
ABO blood type
1 paper →How this was counted
Europe PMC, title and abstract only, searched for “personality traits”, “extraversion”, “conscientiousness”, “openness to experience” alongside each published rsID. Full text was not counted: it returns every paper with an rsID buried in a supplementary table. Recounted monthly.
Quoting this page
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Personality. MyGeneLog™. https://www.mygenelog.com/topics/personality
Questions about Personality
What is Personality?
Personality is this site's topic page for trait genetics — whether the shape of a personality is partly inherited, and the twenty years of famous single-gene findings about it that turned out not to replicate.
Is personality genetic?
Partly — twin studies show real heritability for traits like extraversion — but twenty years of famous single-gene findings claiming to explain specific traits turned out not to replicate, which is the harder and more honest part of the story.
Why is personality a topic on this site now?
Personality tests are a genre now, and every one of them invites the same question: where does the result actually come from, and how much of it is inherited?
How does this site decide which variants are linked to personality?
Europe PMC is searched for personality traits, extraversion, conscientiousness or openness to experience appearing in a paper's title or abstract alongside a published rsID — neuroticism is tracked under the depression and stress topic instead, so the same papers are not counted twice.