What sets the odds of winning and losing?

Rutte, Claudia; Taborsky, Michael; Brinkhof, Martin W. G.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.10.014

Cited by 256 publications

(269 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Several studies find a strong loser effect but little or no winner effect (e.g. Francis 1983;Schuett 1997), with a metaanalysis by Rutte et al (2006) suggesting that, averaging across studies, winners are twice as likely to win again, whereas losers are five times more likely to lose. Given the heavy reliance on young or socially inexperienced subjects, we do not find this surprising: these are precisely the individuals for which we would predict that loser effects are much stronger than winner effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An enduring puzzle in the study of conflict is the widespread existence of winner and loser effects (reviewed in Hsu et al 2006;Rutte et al 2006), in which the experience of winning a conflict makes an individual more likely to win a subsequent conflict, whereas the experience of losing makes it more likely to lose (Chase et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…androgen) or neuromodulator (e.g. serotonin) changes might mediate these effects (Wingfield 1994;Huber & Delago 1998;Oyegbile & Marler 2005;Oliveira et al 2009), but their adaptive basis remains unclear (Hsu et al 2006;Rutte et al 2006). In the absence of any changes in actual fighting ability, why should the outcome of one contest influence the outcome of another?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning your own strength: winner and loser effects should change with age and experience

Fawcett

Johnstone

2010

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Winner and loser effects, in which the outcome of an aggressive encounter influences the tendency to escalate future conflicts, have been documented in many taxa, but we have limited understanding of why they have evolved. One possibility is that individuals use previous victories and defeats to assess their fighting ability relative to others. We explored this idea by modelling a population of strong and weak individuals that do not know their own strength, but keep track of how many fights they have won. Under these conditions, adaptive behaviour generates clear winner and loser effects: individuals who win fights should escalate subsequent conflicts, whereas those who lose should retreat from aggressive opponents. But these effects depend strongly on age and experience. Young, naive individuals should show highly aggressive behaviour and pronounced loser effects. For these inexperienced individuals, fighting is especially profitable because it yields valuable information about their strength. Aggression should then decline as an individual ages and gains experience, with those who lose fights becoming more submissive. Older individuals, who have a better idea of their own strength, should be more strongly influenced by victories than losses. In conclusion, we predict that both aggressiveness and the relative magnitude of winner and loser effects should change with age, owing to changes in how individuals perceive their own strength.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning your own strength: winner and loser effects should change with age and experience

Fawcett

Johnstone

2010

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Their models suggest that the predicted patterns of coalitions are strongly dependent on the way in which winner and loser effects change with contestant strength. Winner and loser effects have been demonstrated empirically for a wide range of animals in dyadic contests (Chase et al, 1994;Rutte et al, 2006). However, their role in coalitionary encounters remains largely unstudied.…”

Section: Winner-loser Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coalitions in theory and reality: a review of pertinent variables and processes

Bissonnette

Perry

Barrett

et al. 2015

Behav

104

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Coalitions and alliances are ubiquitous in humans and many other mammals, being part of the fabric of complex social systems. Field biologists and ethologists have accumulated a vast amount of data on coalition and alliance formation, while theoretical biologists have developed modelling approaches. With the accumulation of empirical data and sophisticated theory, we are now potentially able to answer a host of questions about how coalitions emerge and are maintained in a population over time, and how the psychology of this type of cooperation evolved. Progress can only be achieved, however, by effectively bridging the communication gap that currently exists between Coalitions in theory and reality empiricists and theoreticians. In this paper, we aim to do so by asking three questions: (1) What are the primary questions addressed by theoreticians interested in coalition formation, and what are the main building blocks of their models? (2) Do empirical observations support the assumptions of current models, and if not, how can we improve this situation? (3) Has theoretical work led to a better understanding of coalition formation, and what are the most profitable lines of inquiry for the future? Our overarching goal is to promote the integration of theoretical and field biology by motivating empirical scientists to collect data on aspects of coalition formation that are currently poorly quantified and to encourage theoreticians to develop a comprehensive theory of coalition formation that is testable under real-world conditions.

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“…In this paper we consider extrinsic factors in the form of winner and loser effects (denoted by W and L respectively), and analogously to the model developed by Dugatkin ([17]) and Dugatkin & Dugatkin ([18]), assume that the ability to win fights is governed by the RHP only, which is directly affected by winner and loser effects. Winner and loser effects occur when previous victories lead to an increased probability of winning and previous defeats lead to a decreased probability of winning respectively ( [8], [26], [27], [40]). There is a lot of experimental evidence ( [5], [9], [33], [43]) showing the presence of the loser effect in different groups of animals that lasts for several days.…”

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confidence: 99%

Modelling Dominance Hierarchies Under Winner and Loser Effects

2015

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This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Abstract Animals that live in groups commonly form themselves into dominance hierarchies which are used to allocate important resources such as access to mating opportunities and food. In this paper we develop a model of dominance hierarchy formation based upon the concept of winner and loser effects using a simulation-based model, and consider the linearity of our hierarchy using existing and new statistical measures. Two models are analysed: when each individual in a group does not know the real ability of their opponents to win a fight and when they can estimate their opponents' ability every time they fight. This estimation may be accurate or fall within an error bound. For both models we investigate if we can achieve hierarchy linearity, and if so, when it is established. We are particularly interested in the question of how many fights are necessary to establish a dominance hierarchy. Permanent

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What sets the odds of winning and losing?

Cited by 256 publications

References 45 publications

Learning your own strength: winner and loser effects should change with age and experience

Learning your own strength: winner and loser effects should change with age and experience

Coalitions in theory and reality: a review of pertinent variables and processes

Modelling Dominance Hierarchies Under Winner and Loser Effects

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