David Lykken

David Lykken was a behavioral geneticist known for his twin studies demonstrating that human happiness has a largely heritable baseline set-point. His research concluded that individuals have a genetic baseline of happiness they naturally return to over time.

David Lykken lived from 1928 to 2006, spending his prominent academic career at the University of Minnesota. During his time there in the mid-to-late 20th century, he became a leading voice in the field of behavioral genetics.

Through his extensive twin studies, Lykken concluded that happiness is largely determined by a genetic set-point rather than purely external life circumstances. This implied that people tend to revert to their innate baseline of well-being regardless of life events.

In addition to his studies on the heritability of happiness, David Lykken conducted significant research on the nature of psychopathy. His work at the University of Minnesota explored the genetic and biological underpinnings of antisocial behavior.