Involuntary subordination and its relation to personality, mood, and submissive behavior.

Abstract

According to social rank theory, involuntary subordination may be adaptive in species that compete for resources as a mechanism to switch off fighting behaviors when loss is imminent (thus saving an organism from injury). In humans, major depression is thought to occur when involuntary subordination becomes prolonged. The present study sought to operationalize involuntary subordination. Study 1 involved a reanalysis of a Gilbert and Allan (1998) study, with the hypothesis that social comparison (i.e., perceived status), submissive behavior, feelings of defeat, and entrapment would load on a common factor (interpreted as involuntary subordination). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported this model. In Study 2 measures of these same variables were administered to a group of undergraduate students. Eight items were selected from each measure (on the basis of item-total correlations) to form the Involuntary Subordination Questionnaire (ISQ). In Study 3 scores on the ISQ showed high levels of internal consistency and test-retest reliability in a sample of undergraduate students. Scores on the ISQ were significantly positively correlated with various neurotic personality styles and negatively correlated with variables indicating dominance or mastery. Involuntary subordination scores also significantly predicted change in social anxiety symptoms over 9 weeks. In Study 4 scores on the ISQ were examined in relation to nonverbal behaviors. In men, the ISQ was correlated with behaviors indicating a lack of confidence and submissiveness. Involuntary subordination appears to be a relatively stable trait with implications for personality, mood, and real-world behavior.

A meta-analysis of perceptions of defeat and entrapment in depression, anxiety problems, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidality

“…Psychiatric disorders are suggested to emerge as a result of intense, chronic, inflexible or inappropriate IDS activation (Nettle, 2004;Sloman et al, 2003;Taylor et al, 2011a). The particularly large relationship between defeat and depression is also consistent with IDS theory, which conceptualises depression as the direct consequence of an IDS response that has become dysfunctional (Price et al, 1994;Sloman, 2000;Sturman, 2011;Taylor et al, 2011a).…”

Social Rank and Symptom Change in Eating Disorders: A 6‐month Longitudinal Study

“…Sturman (; Sturman & Mongrain, ) has argued that the measures of social rank used here all form a single construct, involuntary subordination , and that they can be measured as such. However, the present study found unique aspects of social rank to predict increases in symptoms of anorexia, specifically submissive behaviour and perceptions of external entrapment.…”

Impact of Child Maltreatment on Attachment and Social Rank Systems

“…Self-report methods of assessing the IDS have been developed (Sturman, 2011) but have not yet been widely adopted by researchers, and the applicability of such measures to children and adolescents (important in testing hypotheses about the shorter term effects of maltreatment) is unclear. Such measures will also need to be sensitive to change, in order to identify shifts in the reactivity of the IDS over time.…”