Behavior Genetics Association
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| Abbreviation | BGA |
|---|---|
| Formation | June 1, 1971 |
| Legal status | Association |
| Purpose | To promote the field of behavioral genetics |
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Region served
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Worldwide |
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Official language
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English |
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President
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Jaakko Kaprio |
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Main organ
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Executive Committee |
| Website | www |
The Behavior Genetics Association (BGA) is a learned society that was established in 1970 and promotes research into the connection between heredity and behavior.
The association's goal is "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 help attain these goals, the society organizes an annual meeting and publishes its official scientific journal entitled Behavior Genetics. The first 12 annual meetings were held in different places within the United States. In 1983, the association held its first annual meeting in Europe (London) and since then meetings have been held in various states of the United States, the Netherlands, France, Australia, Spain, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Korea.
The society has two classes of members: Regular Members, which are persons who teach or perform research related to behavioral genetics, and Associate Members, which are students in good standing at a recognized college or university. Members receive a complimentary subscription to the society's journal as well as discounted registration rates for the association's annual meetings.
The society's business are conducted by a board of directors, called the executive committee. The board consists of 8 members: president, president-elect, past-president, secretary, treasurer, and three members-at-large (one representing the general membership, one representing associate members, and one representing 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 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. Other notable presidents include Irving I. Gottesman (1976), John C. Loehlin (1980), Steven G. Vandenberg (1984), Sandra Scarr (1985), Robert Plomin (1989), Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr. (1993), Glayde Whitney (1994), Nick Martin (1996–1997), and Dorret Boomsma (2008).Whitney's presidential address at the 1995 annual meeting in Richmond, Virginia, on the possible 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.
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