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[Raptor87]

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Unshakeable self belief like that demonstrated by tennis star Andy Murray may be all in the genes, according to new research.

Scientists believe the rock solid self-confidence which often separates life's high achievers from those with similar talent has a genetic basis.

The new belief that this is something people are born with conflicts with previous theories that confidence is based on upbringing and other environmental factors.

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Psychiatrists now say that the ability to perform under pressure may be something some people are born with.

 

 

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Earlier studies found evidence that particular variants, or alleles, of theOXTR gene might be linked to stress-related traits and other psychological characteristics. OXTR codes for the receptor for oxytocin, a hormone that contributes to positive emotion and social bonding.

 

 

[Raptor87]

They also made more neuropeptide Y, a compound that counteracts the effects of cortisol. 

Dr Aikins told the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual conference that he believed the results showed that some individuals were born heroes. 

'Certain people are cooler under pressure and perform very, very well,' he said. 

Dr Aikins has shown that by measuring hormone levels it is possible to predict who will keep their cool under pressure. His work has caught the eye of the U.S. military chiefs, who believe it could be used to create the perfect soldier.

 

 

http://www.dailymail...e-cowardly.html

[Raptor87]

http://www.ijn.com/c...igh-self-esteem

 

Florida State University Prof. Roy Baumeister (PhD psychology, Princeton University) has revealed that in a lifetime of study of violent criminals, the one characteristic nearly all these criminals share is high self-esteem.

Yes, people with high self-esteem are the ones most prone to violence.

 

 

[Raptor87]

I guess I am going to get a lot of bad critique for this thread.  Well, I am not here to be liked! 

 

http://www.psycholog...ture-or-nurture

 

Why? Psychologists have focused on things like self-esteem and self-confidence—how good children think they are—to explain these outcomes. And the assumption has always been that such psychological traits are shaped mostly by parenting—by parents' beliefs and expectations and modeling. Researchers like Albert Bandura have argued that the initial efficacy experiences are centered in the family. But as the growing child's social world rapidly expands, peers become increasingly important in children's developing self-knowledge of their capabilities. So, until now, an individual's self-confidence was seen to be based on upbringing and other environmental factors.

 

 

http://www.kcl.ac.uk...d50nurture.aspx

 

However, the first twin study on this topic showed that self-perceptions of abilities are in fact heritable to a large extent. Led by Corina U. Greven and Robert Plomin (King’s College London), the researchers asked over 3,700 twin pairs to rate their abilities in a number of core school subjects. The 7-10 year old participants were drawn from the Twins Early Development Study, a large UK representative sample. The researchers found that the confidence with which children answer the question 'How good do you think you are (e.g. in English, Mathematics...)?' is about 50% due to nature (genes) and about 50% to nurture (environments).

 

Moreover the researchers found that children’s self-perceptions of their abilities matter in predicting school achievement beyond the children’s actual, tested ability (IQ).  Surprisingly, this prediction occurs for genetic rather than environmental reasons.

 

 

[Raptor87]

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It should be noted that some of the experts we talked with don't agree with Plomin's conclusion that confidence is half genetic. They say that broader personality traits — the big five, as they have become known — are accepted to be about 50% genetic. Those are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. But they would put attributes such as optimism and confidence, which are considered facets of the big five, in the range of 25% inherited.

We were still surprised. Whether we get 50% of our confidence in our genes, or 25%, it's a big chunk, more than we would have thought. It won't be long, we figured, before newly pregnant women will be able to take a quick fetal DNA test to determine whether they should invest in safety locks and padded walls or cuddly toys and books. 

 

 

Edited by Brainfogged, 09 September 2014 - 06:02 PM.