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The dubious precision and utility of heritability estimates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2022

Steven J. Heine Open the ORCID record for Steven J. Heine [Opens in a new window]  and
Ilan Dar-Nimrod
Steven J. Heine
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4 BC, Canada heine@psych.ubc.ca https://heinelab.psych.ubc.ca/person/steven-heine/
Ilan Dar-Nimrod
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia. ilan.dar-nimrod@sydney.edu.au https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/ilan-dar-nimrod.html
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Abstract

Uchiyama et al. question heritability estimates in a convincing manner. We offer additional arguments to further bolster their claims, highlighting methodological issues in heritability coefficients' derivation, their misuse in various contexts, and their potential contributions to exacerbating common erroneous intuitions that have been shown to lead to deleterious social phenomena. We conclude that science should move away from using them.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e164
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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