Social Epigenetics: Incorporating Epigenetic Effects as Social Cause and Consequence
Title
Social Epigenetics: Incorporating Epigenetic Effects as Social Cause and Consequence
Author
Anderton, Douglas L.
Arcaro, Kathleen F.
Research Area
Special Areas of Interdisciplinary Study
Topic
Genetics, the Individual and Society
Abstract
Epigenetics is a field of study that invites an interdisciplinary interaction of the social and biological sciences. This collaboration has, in fact, led to a blossoming research community over the past two decades, which is using new data, methods, and conceptual frameworks to address a host of old and emergent research questions. A recent (2014) search of PubMed found over a thousand articles on social, behavioral, and cognitive epigenetics. If one includes epidemiological epigenetic studies that incorporate either social causes or consequences in their research, the number expands nearly threefold. Yet, social epigenetics is a still nascent field, marginalized and misunderstood in social science. In this essay, we attempt to review basic epigenetic concepts and the way in which epigenetics has, and can be, of use to social and behavioral scientists in addressing some of the most fundamental sorts of questions their disciplines raise.