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Intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness: genetic and environmental influences and personality correlates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Thomas J Bouchard Jr ,
Matt McGue ,
David Lykken  and
Auke Tellegen
Thomas J Bouchard Jr*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. [email protected]
Matt McGue
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
David Lykken
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
Auke Tellegen
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
*
*Correspondence: Thomas J Bouchard Jr, Department of Psychology, Elliott Hall, University of Minnesota, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. Fax: 612 6262079;

Abstract

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This report presents findings for the Intrinsic (IR) and Extrinsic (ER) religiousness scales from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart. The scales were shown to be internally consistent, sufficiently distinct from the scales of the California Psychological Inventory and the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire and unrelated to a number of measures of response style to justify treating them as distinct traits. The I scales also showed considerable evidence of construct validity in its correlations with religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism as assessed by the MMPI and Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism scale. Data on IR and ER from 35 pairs of monozygotic twins reared apart (MZA) and 37 pairs of dizygotic twins reared apart (DZA) were fitted to a biometric model and demonstrated significant heritability (0.43 and 0.39), with a model containing genetic plus environmental factors fitting significantly better than a model containing only an environmental component. Twin similarity could not be explained by placement on a self-reported measure of family Moral Religious Emphasis as measured by the Family Environment Scale.

Keywords

twinsreligiousnesspersonality
Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , 01 April 1999 , pp. 88 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999