Where Do Cultural Tastes Come From? Genes, Environments, or Experiences
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Standard
Where Do Cultural Tastes Come From? Genes, Environments, or Experiences. / Jæger, Mads Meier; Møllegaard, Stine.
In: Sociological Science, Vol. 9, 2022, p. 252-274.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Author
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Where Do Cultural Tastes Come From?
T2 - Genes, Environments, or Experiences
AU - Jæger, Mads Meier
AU - Møllegaard, Stine
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright: c 2022 The Author(s). This open-access article has been published under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction, in any form, as long as the original author and source have been credited.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Theories in sociology argue that family background and individual experiences shape cultural tastes and participation. Yet, we do not know the relative importance of each explanation or the extent to which family background operates via shared genes or shared environments. In this article, we use new data on same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic twins from Denmark to estimate the total impact of family background (genetic and environmental) and individual experiences on highbrow and lowbrow tastes and participation and on omnivorousness in music and reading. We find that family background explains more than half of the total variance in cultural tastes and participation and in omnivorousness. Moreover, family background operates mainly via shared genes, with shared environments shaping cultural tastes to some extent, but not cultural participation. Our findings support theories claiming that family background is instrumental in shaping cultural tastes and participation but highlight the relevance of distinguishing genetic and environmental aspects of family background.
AB - Theories in sociology argue that family background and individual experiences shape cultural tastes and participation. Yet, we do not know the relative importance of each explanation or the extent to which family background operates via shared genes or shared environments. In this article, we use new data on same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic twins from Denmark to estimate the total impact of family background (genetic and environmental) and individual experiences on highbrow and lowbrow tastes and participation and on omnivorousness in music and reading. We find that family background explains more than half of the total variance in cultural tastes and participation and in omnivorousness. Moreover, family background operates mainly via shared genes, with shared environments shaping cultural tastes to some extent, but not cultural participation. Our findings support theories claiming that family background is instrumental in shaping cultural tastes and participation but highlight the relevance of distinguishing genetic and environmental aspects of family background.
KW - cultural omnivorousness
KW - Cultural tastes
KW - environments
KW - family background
KW - genes
KW - twins
U2 - 10.15195/V9.A11
DO - 10.15195/V9.A11
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85130772901
VL - 9
SP - 252
EP - 274
JO - Sociological Science
JF - Sociological Science
SN - 2330-6696
ER -
ID: 313869034