“There’s definitely something to be said for first impressions. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests it can take just 20 seconds to detect whether a stranger is genetically inclined to being trustworthy, kind or compassionate. The findings reinforce that healthy humans are wired to recognize strangers who may help them out in a tough situation. They also pave the way for genetic therapies for people who are not innately sympathetic, researchers said.
…Two dozen couples participated in the UC Berkeley study, and each provided DNA samples. Researchers then documented the couples as they talked about times when they had suffered. Video was recorded only of the partners as they took turns listening. A separate group of observers who did not know the couples were shown 20-second video clips of the listeners and asked to rate which seemed most trustworthy, kind and compassionate, based on their facial expressions and body language.
The listeners who got the highest ratings for empathy, it turned out, possess a particular variation of the oxytocin receptor gene known as the GG genotype.” (via e! Science News).
Ummm, okay, so we can recognize people with a particular oxytocin gene variant. and we think they are more empathic. But is there any evidence that truly correlates with greater empathy? (I know there is some evidence that, at least in animals, oxytocin has a relationship with strength of social affiliation.)
Related:
- The kindness of strangers: Caring and trust linked to genetic variation (eurekalert.org)
- Oxytocin Revisited (psychologytoday.com)
- A Kindness Gene? Researchers Say Caring, Trustworthiness May Be In Our DNA (huffingtonpost.com)
- Body Language Reveals ‘Empathy Gene’ (webmd.com)
- Is empathy in our genes? – CNN (edition.cnn.com)
- Being a jerk could be in your genes (windsorstar.com)
