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Our genes make us like similar others, study reveals
A new study of twins shows that people's spouses and best friends are about as similar to them as brothers and sisters -- more than was previously known. The study, which was conducted by J. Philippe Rushton and Trudy Ann Bons of the University of Western Ontario, also suggested that this preference for similar others is at least partly determined by genes.
The study, entitled "Mate Choice and Friendship in Twins: Evidence for Genetic Similarity," appears in the July issue of the journal Psychological Science

The study examined the social background, personality and attitudes of several hundred pairs of identical and fraternal twins, their spouses and best friends. The researcers found that twins are as similar to their spouses and friends as to their fraternal twins, but not to their identical twins. In addition, the spouses of identical twins were more similar to each other than the spouses of fraternal twins. The finding held true for best friends as well.

The researchers data suggested that genes accounted for about 34% of the similarity, whereas their shared environment accounted for 12% and their unique environment accounted for 54%.

"From arrays of possible alternatives, people seek those compatible with their genotypes," the authors wrote. "People prefer their own kind — extraverts favor extraverts; traditionalists, traditionalists."

Unknowingly favoring heritable traits in choosing mates supoorts the theory that social preferences are related to genetic siimilarity. "If you like, become friends with, come to the aid of, and mate with those people who are genetically most similar to yourself, you are simply trying to ensure that your own segment of the gene pool will be safely maintained and eventually transmitted to future generations," the authors wrote.

"It is especially interesting to see that this applies to our preferences for mates and friendships," Rushton said. "Choosing a life partner is one of the most important decisions that we make."

However, Rushton cautions against overgeneralizing the results. "We found that more than half of the variance in this study was due to unique environmental effects such as being in the right place at the right time." He added, "Similarity is only one of many factors in choosing a partner."

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