Table 2.
Statements and summary of responses from professional anthropologists
| Statements about science | Common response | Correlation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The human population may be subdivided into biological races. | Strongly disagree or disagree (86%) |
0.11 <.00010 1,909 |
| 2. Racial categories are determined by biology. | Strongly disagree or disagree (88%) |
0.11 <.00010 1,903 |
| 3. There are discrete biological boundaries among races. | Strongly disagree or disagree (93%) |
0.14 <.00010 1,868 |
| 4. Biological variability exists but this variability does not conform to the discrete packages labeled races. | Strongly agree or agree (89%) |
−0.035 .12 1,894 |
| 5. Boundaries between what have been called races are completely arbitrary, depending primarily upon the wishes of the classifier. | Strongly agree or agree (69%) |
0.0014 .95 1,898 |
| 6. Continental population categories—Africans, Asians, Europeans—are the same as standard anthropological racial classifications. | Strongly disagree or disagree (73%) |
0.070 .0025 1,872 |
| 7. Continental population categories—Africans, Asians, Europeans—are useful for examining genetic relationships (i.e., relatedness) among people. | Strongly disagree or disagree (38%); Strongly agree or agree (33%) |
0.21 <.00010 1,879 |
| 8. Race—as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (i.e., census categories)—is a useful proxy for ancestry. | Strongly disagree or disagree (73%) |
0.043 .057 1,890 |
| 9. Genetic ancestry—inferred from genetic markers—rather than race, is a better proxy for genetic relationships among sub‐Saharan Africans, Asians, Europeans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. | Strongly agree or agree (75%) |
0.18 <.00010 1,887 |
| 10. The distributions of physical traits overlap among races. | Strongly agree or agree (89%) |
0.016 .48 1,883 |
| 11. So‐called racial characteristics are not transmitted as complexes. | Strongly agree or agree (67%) |
−0.082 .00050 1,814 |
| 12. Genetic differences between racial groups explain most biological differences between individuals of different races. | Strongly disagree or disagree (72%) |
0.095 <.00010 1,888 |
| 13. Genetic differences between racial groups explain most behavioral differences between individuals of different races. | Strongly disagree or disagree (95%) |
0.091 <.00010 1,893 |
| 14. Most anthropologists believe that humans may be subdivided into biological races. | Strongly disagree or disagree (85%) |
0.094 <.00010 1,898 |
| 15. Most anthropologists believe that categorizing human groups by race has no biological basis. | Strongly agree or agree (74%) |
−0.083 .00030 1,896 |
| 16. Most anthropologists believe that categorizing human groups by race has no genetic basis. | Strongly agree or agree (61%) |
−0.12 <.00010 1,877 |
| 17. The use of the term ‘race’ to describe human groups should be discontinued. | Strongly agree or agree (71%) |
−0.027 .24 1,888 |
| 18. The term “race,” as used to describe human groups, should be replaced by a more appropriate and precise term. | Strongly agree or agree (71%) |
0.026 .26 1,878 |
| 19. Most genetic variants among sub‐Saharan Africans, East Asians, and Western Europeans are shared. | Strongly agree or agree (67%) |
−0.036 .13 1,830 |
| 20. Most common genetic variants (i.e., alleles with a frequency of >5%) are shared among sub‐Saharan Africans, East Asians, and Western Europeans. | Strongly agree or agree (66%) |
0.00086 .97 1,815 |
| 21. Genetic variation data may be used to cluster racially ascribed people into groups of continental origin. | Strongly disagree or disagree (37%); Strongly agree or agree (29%) |
0.18 <.00010 1,843 |
| 22. Self‐identified race in the U.S. highly corresponds to genetic inferences of ancestry. | Strongly disagree or disagree (67%) |
0.084 .00030 1,876 |
| Statements about medicine | Common response | Correlation |
| 1. Race influences health. | Strongly disagree or disagree (42%); Strongly agree or agree (41%) |
0.015 .53 1,865 |
| 2. Race, in so far as it corresponds with genetic ancestry, influences health. | Strongly agree or agree (47%) |
0.14 <.00010 1,867 |
| 3. Genetic differences between races explain health disparities. | Strongly disagree or disagree (71%) |
0.19 <.00010 1,847 |
| 4. Categorizing individuals by race is important for biomedical research. | Strongly disagree or disagree (58%) |
0.12 <.00010 1,851 |
| 5. Anthropologists should understand key concepts about the relationship among race, genetics and health. | Strongly agree or agree (79%) |
0.051 .03 1,869 |
| 6. Health professionals should understand key concepts about the relationship among race, genetics and health. | Strongly agree or agree (80%) |
0.067 .0037 1,876 |
| 7. The development of medicines for targeted racial groups is a necessary step toward the achievement of personalized medicine. | Strongly disagree or disagree (58%) |
0.16 <.00010 1,867 |
| 8. Race should be considered in diagnosing certain conditions or diseases. | Strongly disagree or disagree (51%) |
0.086 .00020 1,857 |
| 9. Genetic ancestry should be considered in diagnosing certain conditions or diseases. | Strongly agree or agree (79%) |
0.14 <.00010 1,882 |
| 10. Race should be considered in treating certain conditions or diseases. | Strongly disagree or disagree (53%) |
0.083 .00030 1,850 |
| 11. Genetic ancestry should be considered in treating certain conditions or diseases. | Strongly agree or agree (77%) |
0.14 <.00010 1,885 |
| Statements about social and societal issues | Common response | Correlation |
| 1. Commercial genetic ancestry testing provides a good assessment of a person's ancestry. | Strongly disagree or disagree (39%) |
0.28 <.00010 1,804 |
| 2. Genetic ancestry testing is purely recreational. | Strongly disagree or disagree (33%); Strongly agree or agree (33%) |
−0.23 <.00010 1,811 |
| 3. Genetic ancestry testing does not warrant all the critique it is receiving from the anthropology community. | Strongly disagree or disagree (43%) |
0.23 <.00010 1,779 |
| 4. Genetic ancestry testing is considered by the industry's consumers as purely recreational. | Strongly disagree or disagree (48%) |
0.052 .030 1,776 |
| 5. Consumers value genetic ancestry testing for non‐medical reasons. | Strongly agree or agree (73%) |
0.078 .0010 1,780 |
| 6. Commercial genetic ancestry testing in the U.S. is subject to specific, federal regulation. | Strongly disagree or disagree (39%) |
0.0073 .76 1,699 |
| 7. Commercial genetic ancestry testing in the U.S. should be subject to specific, federal regulation. | Strongly agree or agree (53%) |
−0.054 .024 1,760 |
| 8. Criticisms of genetic ancestry testing are overstated compared to the actual risks and limitations of the tests. | Strongly disagree or disagree (30%); Strongly agree or agree (16%) |
0.20 <.00010 1,747 |
| 9. Genetic ancestry testing should not be used in U.S. criminal investigations. | Strongly agree or agree (49%) |
−0.19 <.00010 1,777 |
| 10. Genetic ancestry testing should be used by U.S. law enforcement when evaluating conflicting eyewitness descriptions. | Strongly disagree or disagree (61%) |
0.15 <.00010 1,783 |
| 11. Genetic ancestry testing should be considered when agencies place children in foster and adoptive families. | Strongly disagree or disagree (82%) |
0.061 .0094 1,810 |
| 12. Genetic ancestry testing should be used by universities to verify racial or ethnic identity of applicants. | Strongly disagree or disagree (90%) |
0.070 .0030 1,821 |
| 13. Genetic ancestry testing reinforces biological conceptions of race. | Strongly agree or agree (50%) |
−0.25 <.00010 1,785 |
| 14. Genetic ancestry testing undermines biological conceptions of race. | Strongly disagree or disagree (36%); Strongly agree or agree (28%) |
0.18 <.00010 1,785 |
| Common statements | Common response | Correlation |
| 1. Races don't exist. | Strongly agree or agree (59%) |
−0.059 .011 1,854 |
| 2. No races exist now or ever did. | Strongly agree or agree (53%) |
−0.078 .00080 1,840 |
| 3. Race has no biological basis. | Strongly agree or agree (71%) |
−0.16 <.00010 1,853 |
| 4. Race is biologically meaningless. | Strongly agree or agree (73%) |
−.016 <.00010 1,867 |
| 5. Race has no genetic basis. | Strongly agree or agree (65%) |
−0.16 <.00010 1,852 |
| 6. Race has no biological influence on health. | Strongly agree or agree (49%) |
−0.15 <.00010 1,832 |
Note. Left Column: Statements about Race used in Survey. Survey asked respondents to indicate their level of agreement with statements using a five‐point Likert Scale (1 = strongly agree; 5 = strongly disagree). Statements were organized into four themes: science, medicine, society, and common statements. Middle Column: Red shading indicates general disagreement, blue shading indicates general agreement, and green shading indicates respondents are divided. Dark shading indicates the level met or exceeded 75% of responses (super‐majority). Right Column: Spearman Correlation Coefficients between familiarity with genetic ancestry inference and individual responses to statements are shown with p values at 95% confidence interval and number of observations. Bold font denotes statistically significant correlations.