While constructed preferences have received a great deal of attention, there has been virtually no research regarding the genetic basis of consumer judgment and choice. In this research, we examine a wide range of previously unexplored heritable effects on consumer choices and judgments. Moreover, whereas prior research on heritable traits has typically employed a piecemeal approach, demonstrat...

Genetic selection is a major force shaping life on earth. In classical genetic theory, response to selection is the product of the strength of selection and the additive genetic variance in a trait. The additive genetic variance reflects a population's intrinsic potential to respond to selection. The ordinary additive genetic variance, however, ignores the social organization of life. With soci...

The effects of varying degrees of atherosclerotic plaque on vascular responsiveness in aortas of Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits and New Zealand White (normal cholesterolemic) rabbits were studied. Ring segments from the aortic arch and thoracic aorta were mounted in organ chambers for isometric tension recording and measurement of endotheliumderived relaxing factor. WHHL rabbi...

The heritability of speciation rates and extinction risks is a crucial parameter in models of macroevolution, but little direct evidence has been available to assess the occurrence, strength, or generality of this heritability. We tested for heritability using correlations between ancestral and descendent branch lengths in phylogenetic trees, an approach first applied to a bird phylogeny by Har...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is heritable social variation in ADG from birth until weaning in piglets. Nursing and the establishment of teat order are sources of social interaction among suckling piglets nursed by the same sow. If a heritable social effect is present, but ignored, the selected animals might be the most competitive ones with negative effects on growth o...