Chapter 12: Status, Prestige and Social Dominance

Question 1

How do status Hierarchies emerge in Crickets?

Answer 1

If a cricket wins a lot of fights, it becomes more aggressive. If it loses, it will become
submissive. Over time a dominance hierarchy emerges. Male crickets who win a fight are more
likely to seek sex from female crickets.

Question 2

Physiological changes seen in Crayfish during the emergence of hierarchies

Answer 2

Neurons in dominant crayfish were excited to serotonin. These same neurons are inhibited in subordinate crayfish. This is the first time a social phenomenon has been linked to a specific
change at an identified synapse.

when subordinate crayfish started to win fights their neurons started to respond
in an excited fashion to serotonin. When dominant crayfish started to lose fights their neurons still responded in an excited fashion to serotonin.

Question 3

T/F: Hiearchies are static

Answer 3

false. they can be challenged

Question 4

why did the dominance striving mechanism in males develop?

Answer 4

because dominant males saw an increase in sexual access to female mates

Question 5

Elevated dominance and status can give males sexual access along 2 paths

Answer 5

1) dominant men are preferred by women

2) Intrasexual domination (poaching)

Question 6

During a pairing of a high dominant female and a low dominant male, why did the low dominant male still become leader?

Answer 6

women tend to be less consumed by personal gain and opt to express their dominance for group-oriented goals.

Question 7

2 Key Features of the Dominance Theory (Cumins)

Answer 7

1) humans have evolved domain-specific strategies for social reasoning about dominance hierarchies
(permissions, obligations)

2) These domain-specific strategies will emerge prior to, and separate from, other reasoning strategies.

Question 8

What is the service-for-prestige theory

Answer 8

the idea that leaders emerge because they provide key services to followers in the form of organizational skills intelligence wisdom and knowledge. These leader-provided serves benefit the followers.

Question 9

the service-for-prestige theory is based on :

Answer 9

reciprocal altruism.

Question 10

T/F: men scoring high on social dominance admit having more affairs

Answer 10

TRUE.

Question 11

2 most robust sex differences in the preschool years

Answer 11

1) rough and tumble play in boys emerge, whereas girls play cooperative games “house”
2) boys use more egotistic languages and are not readily influenced by girls. Girls use language as a more socially binding process

Question 12

Why should social dominance orientation be higher in men

Answer 12

because having a higher SDO would lead to ancestral men having greater control of and access to women. In sum, men appear to score higher on alttitudes endorsing getting ahead.

Question 13

What type of dominant acts do women rank more desirable? do men?

Answer 13

women tend to rate PROSOCIAL DOMINANCE acts as more socially desirable.

Men more than women tended to rate EGOISTIC dominant acts as more socially desirable. ( where they influence others for the direct personal benefit)

Question 14

Status competition among men tend to be most intense when they involve men of equal status. Does this occur for women?

Answer 14

It does not occur in women. Men tend to engage in riskier behavior when they are being observed by others (who are similar in status)

Question 15

Deontic reasoning

Answer 15

emerges in a young child’s life. Reasoning about what a person is permitted, obligated or forbidden to do.

Question 16

Opposite of deontic reasoning

Answer 16

indicative reasoning: reasoning about what is true or false

Question 17

for deontic rules, what do people seek out? for indicative rules, what do people seek out?

Answer 17

for deontic rules, people seek out rule violaters.

for indicative rules, people look for instances that conform to the rule.

Question 18

what is social attention holding theory?

Answer 18

emphasizes the emotive components of dominance.

His theory is based on the
resource-holding potential from work in nonhumans. RHP contends that animals
evaluate themselves relative to other animals based on their relative strengths and weaknesses.

contends that humans use this strategy in social situations (social attention-holding potential, SAHP). SAHP
suggests that humans compete with each other to be attended to, and valued by others, in the group.

Question 19

According to social attention holding theory, people who got a lot of quality attention:

Answer 19

rise to status. Going up in status produces increases in mood and increases in helping behavior towards others.

Question 20

according to social attention holding theoyr, going up in rank produces ___ and an increase in ____.

Answer 20

according to social attention holding theoyr, going up in rank produces ELATION and an increase in HELPING

People who experience a rise in status are more likely to behave in a friendly manner.

Question 21

5 emotions associated with a loss of status

Answer 21

1) social anxiety
2) depression
3) envy
4) rage
5) shame

Question 22

what do men do to other men who are lower in dominance than they are

Answer 22

men lower their voices and stand taller when they believe that they are addressing another man.

Question 23

correlation between walking speed and dominance? Sex differences?

Answer 23

more dominant men walk faster but this correlation is not seen in women

Question 24

dominant or less dominant men smile more

Answer 24

less dominant men smile more

Question 25

how do we perceive the height of people based on our perception of their power?

Answer 25

we think they are taller if they are higher ranking. Ex/ introducing the same person as a professor vs a student caused different audiences to rank the man taller as a professor.

Question 26

effects of testosterone on dominance

Answer 26

testosterone is correlated with dominance. T-injected cows rose through the pecking order.

Question 27

What happens to testosterone levels in athletes when they win

Answer 27

winners of athletic contests show a rise in T for up to two hours after the match. Whereas the losers show a decrease in T.

Question 28

relationship between T levels and cortisol

Answer 28

men with higher T levels had lower cortisol

Question 29

relationship between T levels in women and dominance

Answer 29

heightened T levels in women made them perceive that they were higher in power but their peers assessed them lower than what they thought they were.

Question 30

which neurotransmitter joins testosterone as one of the brain chemicals responsible for mediating one’s position in the status hierarchy?

Answer 30

serotonin

Question 31

sociometer theory

Answer 31

the hypothesis that SELF ESTEEM functions as a subjective indicator of other people’s evaluations.

Question 32

The actual reduction in self confidence to facilitate acting in a submissive subordinate manner

Answer 32

Deceiving down

Question 33

2 general strategies of getting ahead in status and dominance hierarchies

Answer 33

1) self enhancement

2) promote the downfall of others.