Social scientists have traditionally relied on socially driven explanations – such as individual agency or choice and the influence of social structure – to explain social behaviour. It is plausible, however, that in addition to this, certain types of behaviour have a biological or genetic component. This talk provides an overview of the growing field of ‘sociogenomics’ followed by examples of genetic discoveries related to social behaviour and demonstration of how genetics interacts with the social environment. It ends with a critical reflection of the field and the value and dangers of integrating genetics into social science research.