Synonyms
Definition
Dominance is the rank of an individual relative to conspecifics, which predicts the outcomes of social interactions and has consequences for access to resources and influence. The sex steroid testosterone is linked to aggression and dominance rank and may play a proximate role in dominance behaviors.
Introduction
Testosterone is a steroid hormone secreted primarily from the testes and in smaller amounts from the ovaries. It is responsible for the development of primary and secondary sexual traits in males, and levels surge during male puberty when these traits undergo rapid development. The classic model of testosterone’s relation to dominance was based on early animal experiments showing that administration of exogenous testosterone resulted in increased aggression. While, as discussed in the section Dominance in Humans, there are cases in which dominance rank is decided via overt aggression, there are also many instances where this...
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References
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Moore, F.R., Starkey, C., Benjamin, J. (2016). Dominance and Testosterone. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1438-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1438-1
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