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 -