Genetic and Environmental Influences on Singing Self-Evaluation and its Relationship with Singing Ability: An Australian Twin Study

Abstract

People evaluate their singing ability to varying degrees of accuracy, but why these individual differences occur is largely unknown. Objectively evaluated, everyday singing ability is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Since singing self-evaluation (SSE) strongly correlates with everyday singing ability, it is possible that the same factors might influence both. Using a classical twin design, we estimated genetic and environmental influences on SSE and its phenotypic relationship with everyday singing ability in Australian twins (N = 996). Two validated measures of SSE were used: a single self-report item assessing overall singing ability (SSE-Single) and a four-item compo..