Dominance, Status, and Social Hierarchies

Abstract

Evolutionary scientists distinguish between ultimate and proximate causes when explaining physical and behavioral traits. The key to understanding the impact of status lies in appreciating its relation to survival and reproductive success both during the evolutionary past and in the present lives. The necessity of surviving and thriving in a social environment yields evolutionary pressure that shapes the physiological systems involved in neuroendocrine reactivity, cognition, and emotion. The overall profile of sex differences that is emerging from the research shows that males tend to use direct confrontation to dominate and subdue potential threats and rivals. Losses in status can have devastating consequences for social agents. If the analysis of social dominance, social hierarchies, and social power offered here is on track, then the steps that should be taken to avoid the malevolence that can erupt from unbridled Darwinian processes.

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