In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Biosociology

  • Introduction
  • Textbooks
  • Journals
  • Emotions and Social Behavior
  • Neurosociology
  • Hormones and Social Behavior
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Sociology Biosociology
by
Rosemary Hopcroft
  • LAST REVIEWED: 27 July 2011
  • LAST MODIFIED: 27 July 2011
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756384-0005

Introduction

Biosociology is a subject that has emerged relatively recently in sociology—an emergence not without controversy. However, in the last ten years the number of publications in the area has increased dramatically, and an Evolution, Biology and Society Section of the American Sociological Association was created in 2004. The name “biosociology” covers a wide range of topics, from microsociological to macrosociological, with the unifying feature being an acknowledgement of the role of biology in human social life. Researchers in the area use a variety of sociological methodologies as well as research results and methodologies from an array of disciplines including anthropology, behavioral genetics, history, primatology, palaeoanthropology, biology, psychology, and neurology. The field focuses on how evolved human biology interacts with particular social environments to both produce and simultaneously to respond to social institutions and structures.

Programmatic Statements and Review Pieces

This section contains articles that advocate and/or review research in biosociology in some way. They are divided here into five types corresponding to the major strands of research in the field: Emotions and Social Behavior, Neurosociology, Evolution and Social Behavior, Genes and Social Behavior, and Hormones and Social Behavior, plus a section on general biosocial research.

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