The communibiological paradigm refers to a perspective on the study of human communication that focuses on the role of neurobiological systems in the production of behavior. Individual differences in communication behavior are conceptualized as reflecting individual differences in neurobiological systems. The initial rationale for the communibiological paradigm was based on the fact that after 30 years of research effort, the learning paradigm had failed to account for acceptable percentages of variance in either traits or behaviors. Similarly, models that suggested that humans can respond spontaneously to the demands of social situations also failed to produce accurate prediction of what people do during social encounters. The communibiological paradigm was proposed to lead to more accurate predictions of communicative behavior.
Within the communibiological literature, it is common for the paradigm to be expressed as a set of propositions parallel to those first proposed in the temperament literature. The propositions evolved as new research findings were published and as social and behavioral scientists changed the way they thought about the nature of social interaction. Before these propositions are examined in detail, it is important to place them in perspective. First, the propositions were not offered as knowledge claims. Instead, they should be viewed as assumptions or axioms on which theories can be constructed. All theories are based on assumptions. One of the most conspicuous characteristics is the explicitness with which theoretical assumptions are stated. Second, each proposition is heavily supported by empirical research. Although the propositions are not knowledge claims, a considerable body of research in support of each proposition is presented to demonstrate that the propositions are reasonable. The propositions presented below represent the most current version of the communibiological paradigm.