At a major conference on genetics in 2003, a team of researchers reported that the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, are far more likely than Caucasians to carry a variant of the MAOA gene that has been associated with aggressive behavior. The scientists argued that the difference made sense and reflected the fact that more aggressive individuals survived the migratory journey by which the Maori originally populated Aotearoa, the islands that would later become New Zealand.
References
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BearmanPeterShostakSaraMartinMolly (eds). “Exploring Genetics and Social Structure,”American Journal of Sociology (2008), 114 (supplement). A collection of essays illustrating the diverse ways that sociology and genetics can be integrated
2.
FreeseJeremyShostakSara“Genetics and Social Inquiry,”Annual Review of Sociology (2009), 35: 107–128. A broad examination of how social scientists are incorporating molecular genetics into their research and studying genetic research as a social phenomenon
3.
KendlerKenneth S.JaffeeSaraRomerDan (eds). The Dynamic Genome and Mental Health: The Role of Genes and Environments in Development (Oxford University Press, 2010). A volume of cutting-edge papers that explore how genetic and environmental factors jointly give rise to psychopathology
4.
PhelanJo C.LinkBruce G.FeldmanNaumi M.“The Genomic Revolution and Beliefs about Essential Racial Differences: A Backdoor to Eugenics?”Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, 2010. An empirical study that examines how people construe the meaning of race from media reports of genetic differences
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ShanahanMichael J.HoferScott“Molecular Genetics, Aging, and Well-Being: Sensitive Period, Accumulation, and Pathway Models.” InBinstockRobert H.GeorgeLinda K., (eds), Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 7th edition (Elsevier, 2010). A discussion of recent epigenetic and transcription studies and their implications for life course models of health
