Do these genes make me look like an asshole?

My friend Eric recently shared a link on his facebook to this article about 'survival of the kindest'.  It's an interesting read, but it's what I call "scientifish" simply because of the way it's written. Although it comes from Berkeley's website, it's still a human interest piece written to be informative to a wide audience, not just people in lab coats with a vernacular specific to a certain field of study. It describes how maybe people aren't born as selfish assholes after all, and that being nice is healthy and good for society at large. Awesome. While vaguely referencing a few studies, the article asserts that a variation of the oxytocin gene receptor (OTCR) could be responsible for empathy and keeping one's cool in stressful situations.  The following line in the article irked me immensely: "One recent study found compelling evidence that many of us are genetically predisposed to be empathetic." And then this really pissed me off. "'The tendency to be more empathetic may be influenced by a single gene,' Rodrigues said."

Ummm... no. Given my very shallow background in genetics, my recognition of connotative diction in journalism and my overall skepticism concerning linking genes to everything from drink of choice to whether or not you'll enjoy a Dickens novel, I immediately called bullshit.