Sociobiology is the study of the biological basis of social behaviour in animals, including human beings. Viewing social behaviour from a biological standpoint offers insights into behaviours such as sexism, nepotism, altruism, parenting and conflict. Since social behavioural patterns are the products of the same evolutionary pressures which drive morphological and physiological traits, they also are designed to be adaptive and confer reproductive success upon the individual or the species as a whole. Sociobiology looks at the underlying human pattern beyond the influences of culture in the context of a purpose in animal societies. Looked at from an anthropologist's viewpoint, behaviour can be infinitely variable and flexible; however, from a biologist's point of view, Homo sapiens shows, in broad terms, behavioural consistency. Philosophical contemplations about ‘man's true nature’ go back to antiquity. Aristotle, for example, felt that society was the product of the nature of human beings, whilst Plato maintained that human beings were the products of society. The contribution made by Wilson from Harvard was crucial to the definition of sociobiology as a science because previously sociobiology was a loose amalgam of evolutionary theory, ecology and animal behaviour. The combination of different aspects of mating, parental or fighting strategies has led to a different, more comprehensive understanding of their adaptive significance. A more recent synthesis has given rise to the subdiscipline socioendocrinology which deals with the synergy among hormones, physiological regulation and social context. Pheromones as mediators of socioendocrine action are prominent (Chapter 6), but there are many other agents which link social environment with structure/function and behaviour.