Do You Think The Alpha Male Theory Applies 100% To All Living Things?

Filed in Category Alpha Male

Within the realm of humankind I think only people who need attention go after the head of any pack, or they seriously are attracted to the pack member due to having personal similarities. Although, if a person is attracted to a pack member due to similarities it has nothing to do with their rank. Therefore, the alpha male theory could not be applied.

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3 Responses to “Do You Think The Alpha Male Theory Applies 100% To All Living Things?”

  1. 1
    Bradley P said:
    Posted: February 9th, 2010

      The problem with alpha male theory, as it applies to humans, is this:
      It stops being linear shortly after high school graduation, once people get the idea in their heads that life isn’t always like Gym Class.
      That’s the thing. With other social mammals like gorillas and wolves, there’s a fairly linear relationship between 1) having more testosterone, 2) being able to physically dominate, and 3) having a stronger guarantee of reproductive access.
      It gets less linear and straightfoward when you factor in *female* dominance as well (as is the case with bonobos, or pygmy chimpanzees, where the females are slightly bigger than the males, and where “dominance” becomes a social currency more than a show of force). It also gets a lot less straightforward when things like intelligence and tool-use become forms of dominance as well (as is the case with Homo Sapiens–us).
      That’s the thing. The hormonal precursor to traditional alpha maleness–or even alpha femaleness–is testosterone. It really only does a limited set of things. It makes you stronger and more aggressive, for the sake of encouraging reproductive success. That’s it, that’s all.
      It has nothing to do with intelligence or tool use, or social connectedness. The biochemistry of these things is less linear and straightforward, and the “results chain” of these things is even less so.
      If you want to have a realistic model of how the human social thing works, look at red-throated lizards. Essentially the game is less “alpha male” and more “rock-paper-scissors”. Male lizards can get reproductive access one of three ways:
      1) Brute size and strength–the traditional alpha male model,
      2) Deception–doing the *opposite* of the alpha male thing, passing as female and sneaking in, or,
      3) Social Cooperation–having 2-3 BFFs team up on your behalf, and sharing the rewards as well as the risks.
      The actual order of rock-paper-scissors involved depends somewhat on the lizard species, but you get the point I think. Some people are Dominance Alphas, in the traditional manner, yes….
      But others are Social Alphas who *network* and play *politics* for everything, while others still are Intellect Alphas, who get what they want either by deception or by just plain having *better practical ability* than the other Alphas (in the form of tools, education, money, etc.)
      Lots of this just plain depends on how accessible females of the species are. When mating opportunities are rare, males innovate. But some of this really is about the sociality and intellect of the species getting in the way and saying “Hold it! Why does the muscle-head always get everything?”
      So there’s some sense where it applies, but not as much as you’d think. I hope this helps. ^__^

  2. 2
    Bradley P said:
    Posted: February 9th, 2010

      humankind does not travel in packs, were not wolves, and no i don’t think it applies to all living things…. plants don’t have packs either

  3. 3
    bye bye fishy said:
    Posted: February 9th, 2010

      I know this… ummmmm 74? right? RIGHT??!?!?!!

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