A systematic analytical review of twin studies in communication and media

This analytical review examines how genetic and environmental factors shape individual differences in communication and media behavior. A systematic search was conducted to identify published classic twin studies that reported biometric estimation models, measuring additive genetic traits (A), common environmental influences (C), and unique environmental influences (E), or ACE models, of communication- and media-related traits. Twenty-one studies met these criteria, comprising of 79,005 twins and 115 distinct behavior traits spanning interpersonal communication, news and entertainment media use, political discussion and engagement, and problematic or compulsive internet behaviors. Using a weighted average across traits, additive genetic influences accounted for 35.88% of the variance in communication traits, while shared environmental influences contribute substantially less, with the remainder of the variance attributable to non-shared environmental factors between twins and error. Overall, existing twin research suggests that communication and media behaviors are substantially heritable, underscoring key directions for future behavioral genetics research in communication.