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A child's desire to learn depends on genes
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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A group of scientists from the Ohio State Research University stated that a child's desire to learn largely depends on his parents, or more precisely, on the genes he inherited.
American specialists selected 13 thousand twins and triplets aged 9 to 16 years from different countries (Russia, Japan, Germany, Canada, the USA, Great Britain) for their study. The pairs of twins were not chosen by scientists by chance, since in most cases such children are raised in the same family and study together in the same school and with the same teachers. During the study, the scientists compared the answers of twins who have the same hereditary genes with the answers of triplets who have only half of the hereditary genes.
As a result, it was revealed that a child’s desire and motivation to learn depends up to 50% on the genetic factor, while the experts found that the results did not depend on the country of residence of the children or the age of the study participants.
Co-author of the new project Stefan Petril noted that the entire group of specialists who conducted the study expected completely different results. Scientists believed that the main factor determining a child's desire to study would be family, upbringing, environment, teachers, etc., but pairs of twins, despite approximately equal living conditions, upbringing, etc., showed different achievements in their studies and desire to learn.
According to Petril, scientists were able to obtain research results from different countries, each with its own educational system and culture. Specialists have discovered personality differences between twins that are inherited from parents and largely determine the desire to learn in children.
He also noted that this study does not at all mean that we should stop encouraging and inspiring schoolchildren, but the desire to study is explained by hereditary factors in up to 50%.
Experts note that a child's desire to study can also be explained in about 50% by different upbringing or teachers, which only one of the twins has. About 3% is explained by environmental factors, for example, family traditions, experience. Recently, scientists have proven that hyperactive children study better at school.
What was surprising to the research team was that genetic factors had a greater influence on a child's desire to learn, while environmental factors played a lesser role. The results did not depend on the child's country of residence, educational system or culture.
This study does not mean that scientists have found a “study” gene that determines a child’s desire to learn. The results can only indicate that the ability and desire to learn is a more complex process that was unknown until recently. As it turns out, the desire to learn involves not only external factors that can attract a child’s attention to learning and develop his or her abilities (for example, a special approach of a teacher to teaching children), but also genetic factors.
Scientists also emphasize that motivation for learning must be present among both schoolchildren and students.