Editing Human behaviour genetics (section)

==Contemporary behavioural quantitative genetics==
Behavioural geneticists study both psychiatric and mental disorders, such as [[schizophrenia]], [[bipolar disorder]], and [[alcoholism]], as well as behavioural and social characteristics, such as personality and social attitudes.

Recent trends in [[behavioural genetics]] have indicated an additional focus toward researching the inheritance of human characteristics typically studied in [[developmental psychology]]. For instance, a major focus in [[developmental psychology]] has been to characterize the influence of parenting styles on children. However, in most studies, genes are a [[confounding]] variable. Because children share half of their [[alleles]] with each parent, any observed effects of [[parenting styles]] could be effects of having many of the same alleles as a parent (e.g. harsh aggressive parenting styles have been found to correlate with similar aggressive child characteristics: is it the parenting or the genes?). Thus, behaviour genetics research is currently undertaking to distinguish the effects of the family environment from the effects of genes. This branch of behaviour genetics research is becoming more closely associated with mainstream [[developmental psychology]] and the sub-field of [[developmental psychopathology]] as it shifts its focus to the heritability of such factors as emotional [[Self control|self-control]], attachment, social functioning, aggressiveness, etc.

Several academic bodies exist to support behaviour genetic research, including the [[International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society]], [[Behavior Genetics Association]], the [[International Society of Psychiatric Genetics]], and the [[International Society for Twin Studies]]. Behaviour genetic work features prominently in several more general societies, for instance the [[International Behavioral Neuroscience Society]].