continuous multifactorial traits
Last reviewed 01/2018
Continuous multifactorial traits determine the vast majority of usual human characteristics. By definition, these traits have a continuously graded distribution.
Typically the distribution of the trait is Gaussian, the majority of individuals having values around the mean value.
There is a tendency for siblings to have gradations of these traits that are 0.71 correlated, due to the influence of genetic loci, with their mid-parents' value. Hence, the value of an individual's trait over successive generations regresses towards the mean.
Examples of continuous multifactorial traits include height, weight, skin colour, IQ, red cell size and blood pressure.