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This chapter shows that genetic variation is an important feature of virtually every human psychological trait and must be taken into account in any comprehensive explanation (theory) of human behaviour. It begins by discussing the mistaken but widely held belief that ‘genetic variance’ is an indicator of the biological or evolutionary unimportance of a trait. It then turns to the role of quantitative genetic methods in modern biology. Application of these methods across a very large number of quantitative characteristics of an equally large number of species leads to the conclusion that almost all quantitative characters are heritable. This truism is illustrated for the major domains of normal human individual differences: mental ability, personality, psychological interests, and social attitudes. It is shown that compared with effects in social psychology, ecology, and evolution, as well as psychological assessment and treatment, known quantitative genetic influence on human psychological traits should be considered large in magnitude. The argument that ‘ there are no genes for behaviour’ is refuted using ‘clockwork’genes as an example. Using the example of corn oil, it is also shown the fact that finding genes for a quantitative character can be very difficult. The chapter concludes by pointing out that molecular genetics will not replace quantitative genetics; rather, the two levels of analysis will fit together seamlessly.

This chapter extends the field of application of the theory of psychological time and memory decay to nominal interest rates by looking at their correlation with the perceived rate of nominal growth in eighteen countries. It begins with an overview of the theory of the psychological rate of interest, paying special attention to the psychological symmetry between memory decay and future discounting. It then considers whether the psychological rate of interest computed from the sequence of quarterly nominal GDP growth rates is compatible with U.S. AAA corporate bond yields since 1951. It also presents empirical observations about nominal interest rates and the perceived rate of nominal growth and proceeds to discuss nominal interest rates at the end of the German hyperinflation as well as the application of the theory of the psychological rate of interest to the yield on British Consols during the nineteenth century. It concludes that Maurice Allais's theory of the psychological rate of interest is not compatible with a broader set of empirical data.