Verhulst Brad, Estabrook Ryne
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA.
J Theor Polit. 2012 Jul;24(3):328-344. doi: 10.1177/0951629812439348.
Cross-sectional data from twins contain information that can be used to derive a test of causality between traits. This test of directionality is based upon the fact that genetic relationships between family members conform to an established structural pattern. In this paper we examine several common methods for empirically testing causality as well as several genetic models that we build on for the Direction of Causation (DoC) model. We then discuss the mathematical components of the DoC model and highlight limitations of the model and potential solutions to these limitations. We conclude by presenting an example from the personality and politics literature that has begun to explore the question whether or not personality traits cause people to hold specific political attitudes.
双胞胎的横断面数据包含可用于推导性状之间因果关系检验的信息。这种方向性检验基于家庭成员之间的遗传关系符合既定结构模式这一事实。在本文中，我们研究了几种用于实证检验因果关系的常用方法，以及我们为因果方向（DoC）模型所构建的几种遗传模型。然后，我们讨论了DoC模型的数学组成部分，并强调了该模型的局限性以及针对这些局限性的潜在解决方案。我们通过展示人格与政治文献中的一个例子来结束本文，该例子已开始探讨人格特质是否会导致人们持有特定政治态度这一问题。
