Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Status Competition

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 91 Accesses

Synonyms

Intra-sexual competition; Male-male competition; Status acquisition; Status striving

Definition

Status is defined as an individual’s relative access to contested resources in a group (Henrich & Gil-White, 2001). Status can be more broadly conceptualized as an individual’s influence in pursuing their interests and goals when they conflict with the motivations and interests of others. Status competition is comprised of all the behaviors and strategies which individuals use as they vie for more relative influence and status.

Introduction

Potential status differentials among individuals are an important aspect of political dynamics in small-scale societies generally. This entry will present the evolutionary logic underpinning status competition, its general relevance to human evolution and social organization, and empirical studies on its overt expression in small-scale societies.

Status differences are considered a near human universal, that is, it occurs in some form, degree,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Boehm, C. (1999). Hierarchy in the forest: The evolution of egalitarian behavior. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chagnon, N. A. (1988). Life histories, blood revenge, and warfare in a tribal population. Science, 239(4843), 985–992. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.239.4843.985.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Escasa, M., Gray, P. B., & Patton, J. Q. (2010). Male traits associated with attractiveness in Conambo, Ecuador. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(3), 193–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.09.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henrich, J., & Gil-White, F. (2001). The evolution of prestige: Freely conferred deference as a mechanism for enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22, 165–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macfarlan, S. J. (2015). Warfare, marriage, and friendship in Yanomamö-land. Presented at the Human Evolutionary Studies 4th annual symposium. Vancouver: Simon Fraser University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macfarlan, S. J., Walker, R. S., Flinn, M. V., & Chagnon, N. A. (2014). Lethal coalitionary aggression and long-term alliance formation among Yanomamö men. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(47), 16662–16669. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1418639111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patton, J. Q. (2005). Warfare, status, and reproductive success in the Ecuadorian Amazon: A study inspired by Chagnon’s discovery of the unokai correlation. Presented at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society 17th annual meeting. Austin: Univerity of Texas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, J. Q. (2000). Reciprocal altruism and warfare: A case from the Ecuadorian Amazon. In L. Cronk, N. A. Chagnon, & W. Irons (Eds.), Adaptation and human behavior: An anthropological perspective (pp. 417–436). New York: Aldine De Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Rueden, C. R. (2014). The roots and fruits of social status in small-scale human societies. In J. T. Cheng, J. L. Tracy, & C. Anderson (Eds.), The psychology of social status (pp. 179–200). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Rueden, C. R., Gurven, M., & Kaplan, H. (2011). Why do men seek status? Fitness payoffs to dominance and prestige. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 278(1715), 2223–2232. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Rueden, C. R., & Jaeggi, A. V. (2016). Men’s status and reproductive success in 33 nonindustrial societies: Effects of subsistence, marriage system, and reproductive strategy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(39), 10824–10829. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1606800113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Rueden, C. R., Gurven, M., & Kaplan, H. (2008). The multiple dimensions of male social status in an Amazonian society. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29(6), 402–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.05.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    James G. Zerbe

Authors
  1. James G. Zerbe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James G. Zerbe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Haley Dillon

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Zerbe, J.G. (2019). Status Competition. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_397-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_397-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation