Genes are involved in all our behavior, at some level, but geneticists are beginning to ascertain the links between particular genes and particular behaviors. And when we learn about such links, we tend to endow them with significance—more significance than they deserve. For instance, people who endorse genetic explanations for obesity believe they have less control over their weight than do people who doubt such explanations.Merely reading a newspaper article containing genetic explanations for obesity leads people to eat more junk food than they typically would. Equally problematic, female test takers perform significantly worse on standardized math tests if they take the tests after having read a genetic explanation for why women are underrepresented in math- and science-related professions. Our beliefs about our genes may affect our behavior more strongly than do the genes themselves. In the case of mathematics achievement, for instance, the evidence for innate gender differences is weak, but the evidence for socially primed gender differences is strong. Ironically, as scientists discern the limits of genetic influences on behavior, our knowledge of any influence at all can lead us to behave more fatalistically. Our genes do not dictate our destiny, but our beliefs about our genes may, if we let them.
What we believe, and maybe even what we read on a day to day basis might have a stronger influence on our behaviours than we might think. Even accepting that we are limited by our genes in anyway might dictate the way we behave and the effort we put in. The irony of the self-fulfilling prophecy.
