NEW YORK ¨C With so many family gatherings this time of year, many of us notice that our siblings are turning into our parents, and some of our partners¡¯ and friends¡¯ kids are turning into their parents. That¡¯s no illusion. As scientists have learned from ¡°nature versus nurture¡± studies on twins and adoptees, humans become more like our biological parents and other family members as we get older.
This is a little scary. It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t love the anxious relative who can¡¯t enjoy a holiday dinner because her stuffing wasn¡¯t perfect, or the impulsive one who can¡¯t stop at three glasses of eggnog even though he will regret it. It¡¯s just unnerving to realize they are reflections of the selves we might become.
I learned about escalating family resemblances from talking with Robert Plomin, a behavioral geneticist at the King¡¯s College London. He describes the phenomenon in his recent book, ¡°Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are.¡± At first, I thought the interview might be contentious, considering that I¡¯d recently written a column titled ¡°You Are Not Your DNA.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.