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Description
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Humans are inherently social beings, whose behaviours are regulated by multiple interactions between genetic predispositions and environmental influences. In-person social interactions represent the first means of sharing ideas and making comparisons with others. Nowadays, communication has rapidly spread through new environments such as social networks sites (SNSs). However, the quality and the frequency of online and offline interactions may vary across individuals. In this research, we probed these differences in online interactions through the lens of behavioural genetics. Our question was if personal expectations of social behaviour could affect the frequency of the online social interactions of users who are genetically sensitive to experiences. The measure related to the in-person interaction we focused upon is adult attachment, as recalled by the participants (N = 58, 42 females) in the dimensions of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; namely confidence, discomfort with closeness, relationships as secondary, need for approval, preoccupation with relationships). The genetic factors we considered are the polymorphisms within the region rs25531 (T/T homozygotes vs C-carriers) of the serotonin transporter gene. At this level, a given genetic signature can be either be protective or a risk factor to sociability and social distress in human relationships. The activity linked to the online interaction was derived from Instagram, one of the most popular media-sharing SNS. We collected three parameters as a proxy for the frequency of online interactions: the number of a) published posts, b) people that the user follows ("followings") and c) followers, where the Social Desirability Index (SDI) was calculated as the ratio of followers to followings. We hypothesized a cross interaction between genetic groups and adult attachment scores on the number of followings, posts and SDI, independent of the gender. Three univariate ANCOVAs were performed with the Instagram parameter as the dependent variable, the 5-HTT gene genotype rs25531 as a between-subjects factor and the ASQ dimensions as continuous covariates (corrected \alpha = 0.0167). A significant interaction between confidence (a subscale on the ASQ) and genotype emerged for Instagram number of followings (F(1,57) = 7.34, p < 0.009, ηp2 = 0.14). Confidence was negatively associated with the number of followings for C-carriers (t(15) = -1.11, df = 13, r = -0.30, ns), but positively associated with the number of followings for T/T homozygous (t(43) = 3.61, df = 41, r = 0.49, p < 0.001) (Figure 1). A significant difference between the slopes for T/T and C-carriers was confirmed by Fisher's z (z = 2.56, p < 0.005). Post-hoc Student’s t tests revealed that the users with the genotype more sensitive to environmental influences (T/T homozygotes) showed a greater Instagram number of followings than non-sensitive ones (C-carriers) when they experienced high level of confidence with others (t = -1.14, df = 29, p < 0.013), but not when they reported low scores in confidence (t = -1.14, df = 29, ns). This result discloses potential asymmetries between genetic factors and quality in the adult relationship on online sociability. Our finding also corroborates the plasticity genes model which describes different biological patterns of social behaviour in connection with the experiences lived throughout human development, such as the quality of relationships with the caregivers.
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Related Publication
| Bonassi, A., Cataldo, I., Gabrieli, G., Foo, J. N., Lepri, B. & Esposito, G. (2020). P.677 Serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms and confidence in adult relationships affect the number of followed people on Instagram. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 40, S385-S386.
doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2020.09.500 |
