October 10, 2018

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

Further Reading

Fifty years of twin studies: A meta-analysis of the heritability of human traits

The nature of nurture: effects of parental genotypes

Variation in the heritability of educational attainment: An international meta-analysis

Genetic analysis of social-class mobility in five longitudinal studies

Large cross-national differences in gene x socioeconomic status interaction on intelligence

How much does education improve intelligence? A meta-analysis

Are cognitive g and academic gone and the same g?

A systematic review of personality trait change through intervention

How scientists are learning to predict your future with your genes

Using nature to understand nurture

What makes us who we are?

Can ‘genius’ be detected in infancy?

A brief history of everyone who ever lived

The gardner and the carpenter: What the new science of child development tells us about the relationship between parents and children