Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" connotes a focus on genetic influences, the field broadly investigates the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence individual differences, and the development of research designs that can remove the confounding of genes and environment. Behavioural genetics was founded as a scientific discipline by Francis Galton in the late 19th century, only to be discredited through association with eugenics movements before and during World War II. In the latter half of the 20th century, the field saw renewed prominence with research on inheritance of behaviour and mental illness in humans, as well as research on genetically informative model organisms through selective breeding and crosses. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, technological advances in molecular genetics made it possible to measure and modify the genome directly. This led to major advances in model organism research and in human studies, leading to new scientific discoveries.
Farmers with wheat and cattle—Ancient Egyptian art 1,422 BCE displaying domesticated animals
Study results about which and to what degree various traits, IQ and language-related skills appear to be influenced by genetics
Similarity in twins and adoptees indicates a small role for shared environment in personality.
Sir Francis Galton was a British polymath and the originator of the behavioral genetics movement during the Victorian era.
An 1882 portrait of Galton by Gustav Graef
Portrait of Galton by Octavius Oakley, 1840
Galton in the 1850s
Portrait by Charles Wellington Furse, 1903