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Original Article

The Nature and Nurture of HEXACO Personality Trait Differences

An Extended Twin Family Study

Published Online:August 02, 2019https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000378

Abstract

Abstract. This study was designed to provide detailed estimates of genetic and environmental sources of variance in the HEXACO personality traits. For this purpose, we analyzed data from a German extended twin family study including 573 pairs of twins as well as 208 mothers, 119 fathers, 228 spouses, and 143 offspring of twins. All participants provided self-reports on the HEXACO-60. Extended twin family analyses using structural equation modeling (SEM) yielded that additive and nonadditive genetic influences accounted for about 50% of the variance in personality traits. The remaining variance was primarily due to individual-specific environmental sources and random measurement error. Spousal similarity in Openness was attributable to assortative mating, whereas spousal similarity in Honesty-Humility was attributable to environmental circumstances, partly due to a shared social background and spouse-specific effects. Our analyses yielded specifics for different personality traits. However, transmission of trait similarity from one generation to the next was primarily genetic.

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