Introduction

This chapter introduces readers to The Handbook of Communication Science and Biology, a repository of cutting-edge scientific work on the biology of communication behavior. Chapters in this contemporary volume address a wide range of social behaviors and interactions, examining their evolution and their genetic, neurological, endocrine, and immunological antecedents, correlates, and consequences. This collection aims not only to document the advances in communication science that a biological perspective has offered but also to stimulate new theorizing and empirical work that can further our understanding of the human social animal.