Do genetic ancestry tests increase racial essentialism? Findings from a randomized controlled trial.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science
    • Subject Terms:
    • Abstract:
      Genetic ancestry testing is a billion-dollar industry, with more than 26 million tests sold by 2018, which raises concerns over how it might influence test-takers' understandings of race. While social scientists argue that genetic ancestry tests may promote an essentialist view of race as fixed and determining innate abilities, others suggest it could reduce essentialist views by reinforcing a view of race as socially constructed. Essentialist views are a concern because of their association with racism, particularly in its most extreme forms. Here we report the first randomized controlled trial of genetic ancestry testing conducted to examine potential causal relationships between taking the tests and essentialist views of race. Native-born White Americans were randomly assigned to receive Admixture and mtDNA tests or no tests. While we find no significant average effect of genetic ancestry testing on essentialism, secondary analyses reveal that the impact of these tests on racial essentialism varies by type of genetic knowledge. Within the treatment arm, essentialist beliefs significantly declined after testing among individuals with high genetic knowledge, but increased among those with the least genetic knowledge. Additional secondary analysis show that essentialist beliefs do not change based on the specific ancestries reported in test-takers' results. These results indicate that individuals' interpretations of genetic ancestry testing results, and the links between genes and race, may depend on their understanding of genetics.
      Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
    • References:
      Hum Genet. 2012 Jan;131(1):41-56. (PMID: 21698460)
      Transl Behav Med. 2018 Jan 29;8(1):105-112. (PMID: 29385579)
      Soc Stud Sci. 2019 Jul 2;:306312719861434. (PMID: 31264517)
      Psychol Bull. 2011 Sep;137(5):800-18. (PMID: 21142350)
      Soc Psychol Q. 2014 Sep 1;77(3):296-318. (PMID: 25870464)
      Science. 1998 Oct 23;282(5389):654-5. (PMID: 9841421)
      Public Health Genomics. 2012;15(1):11-21. (PMID: 21720148)
      J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008 Jun;94(6):1033-47. (PMID: 18505316)
      Genet Med. 2012 Jun;14(6):586-93. (PMID: 22382803)
      Dev World Bioeth. 2003 Dec;3(2):119-26. (PMID: 14768643)
      Science. 2007 Oct 19;318(5849):399-400. (PMID: 17947567)
      Am Sociol Rev. 2013 Apr 1;78(2):167-191. (PMID: 24855321)
      New Genet Soc. 2019;38(2):165-194. (PMID: 31814797)
      J Health Commun. 2000 Jan-Mar;5(1):29-39. (PMID: 10848030)
      Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2016 May;42(5):688-700. (PMID: 27029578)
      Public Health Genomics. 2011;14(4-5):279-89. (PMID: 20407217)
      Genet Med. 2010 Sep;12(9):544-7. (PMID: 20601894)
      Public Health Genomics. 2010;13(7-8):467-76. (PMID: 20203477)
      Am Anthropol. 2017 Sep;119(3):422-434. (PMID: 30078844)
      Science. 2016 Feb 5;351(6273):564-5. (PMID: 26912690)
      Science. 2009 Jul 3;325(5936):38-9. (PMID: 19574373)
      Genet Med. 2016 Jan;18(1):65-72. (PMID: 25812042)
      Public Health Genomics. 2016;19(2):116-24. (PMID: 26950077)
      Br J Sociol. 2015 Mar;66(1):1-27. (PMID: 25789799)
      Appl Transl Genom. 2016 Feb 02;8:16-22. (PMID: 27047755)
      PLoS One. 2015 Oct 28;10(10):e0141532. (PMID: 26510161)
      Public Health Genomics. 2015;18(4):216-24. (PMID: 26087778)
      Group Process Intergroup Relat. 2006 Jan;9(1):. (PMID: 24260013)
      BMJ. 2002 Dec 21;325(7378):1469-71. (PMID: 12493671)
    • Grant Information:
      P2C HD044964 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; MSH 217672 Canada CIHR; FDN-154320 Canada CIHR
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20200130 Date Completed: 20200511 Latest Revision: 20221207
    • Publication Date:
      20240105
    • Accession Number:
      PMC6988910
    • Accession Number:
      10.1371/journal.pone.0227399
    • Accession Number:
      31995576