The Behavior Genetics Association (BGA) is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...

established in 1970 and which promotes research into the connections between heredity and behavior, both human and animal. Its members support education and training in

behavior genetics Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" ...

; and publish ''

Behavior Genetics Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" ...

'', a journal on the topic.

Aims

According to the association, its goals are "to promote scientific study of the interrelationship of genetic mechanisms and behavior, both human and animal; to encourage and aid the education and training of research workers in the field of behavior genetics; and to aid in the dissemination and interpretation to the general public of knowledge concerning the interrelationship of genetics and behavior, and its implications for health and human development and education." To further these goals, the society organizes an annual meeting and publishes the scientific journal ''

''. The annual meeting is held in a different location every year.

Membership

The society has three classes of members: Regular consisting of persons who teach or perform research related to

behavioral genetics Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" c ...

, Associate Members – students in good standing at a recognized college or university and retired members. Members receive a complimentary subscription to the society's journal as well as discounted registration rates for the association's annual meetings.

Governance

The society's business are conducted by a board of directors, called the

executive committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

. The board consists of 9 members: president, president-elect, past-president, secretary,

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

, an information officer, and three members-at-large (representing the general members, associate members, and members from outside North America). Members of the executive committee serve three-year terms. To ensure continuity, one member-at-large is elected every year.

Presidents

Presidents serve three-year terms. Upon election, they become president-elect and they serve as chair of the program committee for that year. After one year they become president and in the third year of their term they serve as past-president. The association's first president was

Theodosius Dobzhansky Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский; uk, Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добржа́нський; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a prominent ...

. Other notable presidents include Irving I. Gottesman (1976), John C. Loehlin (1980),

Steven G. Vandenberg Steven Vandenberg (July 15, 1915 in Den Helder, Netherlands, The Netherlands – August 27, 1992 in Boulder, Colorado, United States) was a Behavioural genetics, behavior geneticist who immigrated to the US after the World War II, Second World War, ...

(1984), Sandra Scarr (1985),

Robert Plomin Robert Joseph Plomin (born 1948) is an American/British psychologist and geneticist best known for his work in twin studies and behavior genetics. A ''Review of General Psychology'' survey, published in 2002, ranked Plomin as the 71st most cited ...

(1989), Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr. (1993),

Glayde Whitney Glayde D. Whitney (1939 – 8 January 2002) was an American behavioral geneticist and psychologist. He was professor at Florida State University. Beyond his work into the genetics of sensory system function in mice, in his later life he supporte ...

(1994), Nick Martin (1996–1997), and

Dorret Boomsma Dorret I. Boomsma (born 18 November 1957, Huizen, The Netherlands) is a Dutch biological psychologist specializing in genetics and twin studies. Education * Secondary education: Willem de Zwijgerlyceum, Bussum * Bachelor's: Vrije Universite ...

(2008). Whitney's presidential address at the 1995 annual meeting in Richmond, Virginia, claiming genetic roots of the relationship between race and crime, caused a controversy resulting in several resignations from the association's executive committee. The association subsequently declared that "the Association has no official spokesman and that the presidential address does not represent official policy of the association". In addition, it was stated that "members are not encouraged to express their personal political and moral views" in presentations given at the meeting, which should be strictly scientific.

Awards

The association gives several yearly awards for accomplishments in the field of behavioral genetics. The

Dobzhansky Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский; uk, Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добржа́нський; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a prominent ...

Award, named after its first president, is given for lifetime accomplishments and is chosen by the three most recent past presidents. The Fuller & Scott Award is an early career award for accomplishments by researchers that are within seven years of receiving their terminal degree. The award is named after former presidents John L. Fuller and John Paul Scott and the award committee is the same as for the Dobzhansky Award. The Thompson and Rowe awards, are named after former president W. R. Thompson (1977), and David C. Rowe, a pioneer of Gene-Environment interaction research respectively. The Thompson is given for the oral presentation given by an associate (student) member, and judged as most outstanding during the annual meeting. The Rowe similarly recognises the most outstanding student poster presentation. The awards committee for these awards consists of the past president together with the three members-at-large of the executive committee. In addition, the society gives the annual Fulker Award for an outstanding paper published in ''Behavior Genetics''. This award is named after former president David Fulker (1983), who also was a previous

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the journal. The awards committee consists of the journal's

editorial advisory board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, an ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Genetics organizations Organizations established in 1970 Biology societies Twin studies Behavioural genetics societies International scientific organizations