The pursuit of social rank pervades all human societies and the position that an individual occupies within a hierarchy has important effects on their social and reproductive success. Whilst recent research has indicated that there are two distinct routes to rank attainmentdominance (through the induction of fear) and prestige (through respect and admiration)this empirical evidence has generally provided only a cross-sectional snapshot of how the two processes operate in human hierarchy. Whether dominance and prestige are potentially viable long-term strategies, rather than more effective short-term tactics, for acquiring rank in groups remains an open question. The current research addresses this gap by examining the temporal dynamics between prestige, dominance and social rank using a dynamic, evolutionary approach to understanding human social hierarchy, and thus supplies the first longitudinal empirical assessment of these variables' relationships. Using naturalistic student project groups comprised of 3-5 teammates, the present research tracks the temporal relationships between prestige, dominance and social rank-provided through round-robin teammate-ratings-from the initial formation of collaborative task groups through to the end of a 16-week long academic semester. Results indicate that, whilst dominance and prestige both promoted social rank in unacquainted groups initially and were distinct processes throughout the period examined, only prestige had a positive effect on social rank over time. Further results reveal that the temporal relationship between prestige and social rank was bidirectional, such that acquiring social rank further perpetuates future prestige. Overall, findings present a framework for the longitudinal distinction between prestige and dominance.
We propose that networks of cooperation and allocation of social status co-emerge in human groups. We substantiate this hypothesis with one of the first longitudinal studies of cooperation in a preindustrial society, spanning 8 years. Using longitudinal social network analysis of cooperation among men, we find large effects of kinship, reciprocity and transitivity in the nomination of cooperation partners over time. Independent of these effects, we show that (i) higher-status individuals gain more cooperation partners, and (ii) individuals gain status by cooperating with individuals of higher status than themselves. We posit that human hierarchies are more egalitarian relative to other primates species, owing in part to greater interdependence between cooperation and status hierarchy.
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