It has been suggested by the behavioral geneticist S. Alexandra Burt, PhD, of Michigan State University that an individual's genetic makeup can make him or her more likely to be liked.

The human genes don't confer popularity and that's for others to decide. However, it is believed by Bur that those carrying the specific genes tend to behave in likeable ways.

According to Burt, "The idea is that your genes predispose you to certain behaviors and those behaviors elicit different kinds of social reactions from others. And so what's happening is your genes are to some extent driving your social experiences."

With the aim to support this theory, Burt concentrated on a gene that affects brain levels of the chemical messenger serotonin -- the 5HT2A serotonin-receptor gene. She found that college-aged men who carried the G variant of the gene were more popular than men who carried the A variant in one of her earlier studies.

"Rule breaking is a behavior linked to popularity among teenage males. Impulsivity underlies rule breaking -- and impulsivity has been linked to higher serotonin levels. Might the popularity gene have something to do with a predisposition to rule breaking?" she noted.

Over 200 college men with an average age of 19 were assembled by Burt in two groups. One group met together with the aim to plan a party within a firm budget; the other met to plan a party for which sky was the limit. Soon after the planning sessions, individuals rated their peers on popularity and also gave a DNA sample.

Burt observed after analyzing the men's behavior that men who advocated rule-breaking tended to be rated as more popular. And the rule breakers tend to carry the gene for popularity.

Burt said, "So the gene predisposed them to rule-breaking behavior, and their rule-breaking behavior made them more popular."

As of now, Burt is working to find whether the popularity gene is limited to men, and to just one type of behavior.

The study by Burt would appear in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.