With its clear and concise presentation, Behavioral Genetics, 8th Edition, introduces students to the field’s underlying foundational principles, defining research studies, ongoing controversies, and most recent discoveries. The text provides students with an understanding of heredity, its DNA basis, and contemporary genomic science, including introducing the methods used to discover genetic influence on behavior. It then examines what is known about genetic influence on cognitive ability, psychopathology, substance abuse, personality, health psychology, and aging. Finally, it describes the future of the field of Behavioral Genetics, an area where some of the most exciting development in the behavioral sciences are being made.

Valerie Knopik is Professor and Department Head of Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University and Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics. An internationally-recognized scholar in behavioral genetics and developmental science, her research focuses on the interplay between genetic and environmental influences—particularly prenatal and early-life risk factors—on birth outcomes, cognitive development, substance use, and mental health. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Behavior Genetics and was President of the Behavior Genetics Association in 2023-2024.

Jenae Neiderhiser is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies and Co-Director of the Child Study Center at Penn State University. Neiderhiser’s international work has focused on how genes and environments work together throughout the lifespan, with a particular focus on genotype-environment correlation and how individuals shape their own environments, especially within the family. She was President of the Behavior Genetics Association in 2018-2019.

Chandra Reynolds is Professor at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics and Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Professor Emerita at the University of California Riverside. Reynolds’ research interests and international collaborations focus on life span development and aging, particularly the coaction and interplay of genes and environments on cognitive aging and the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. She serves as an Associate Editor of Behavior Genetics and was President of the Behavior Genetics Association in 2024-2025.

Robert Plomin is Research Professor of Behavioural Genetics at the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. The goal of his internationally-recognized research is to bring together genetic and environmental research strategies to investigate behavioral development. He served as President of the Behavior Genetics Association in 1989–1990.