Behavioral Genetics

Behavioral (or behavior) genetics is a field of study concerned with the genetic (inborn) and situational (from the environment) influences on behavior. It is essentially the study of the 'nature vs, nurture' debate. The goal in behavioral genetic research is to identify which behaviors are influenced by genes and which are mostly influenced by the environment and situational factors. This field studies the connections between genes and behavior. Human behavior genetics is a subset of behavioral genetics that researches influences on human behavior. Twin studies are commonly used in behavioral genetics research because they are ideal for teasing apart genetic and environmental influences.