Dominance strategy
Rank via coercion, intimidation, or formal power. Costly when institutions punish it.
Dominance works in zero-sum contests and weak-institution settings. In knowledge work it often backfires. Testosterone folklore is almost entirely a dominance story; prestige is the missing half.
Also called coercive rank.
Connected relationships
MECHANISM+ INCREASES
Theory · Moderate
Dominance strategy→Status seeking
Higher Dominance strategy increases Status seeking.
Dominance is a means. Status is the end. Folklore treats them as synonyms.
SMOKE? CONDITIONAL
Meta-analysis · Contested
Estradiol→Dominance strategy
Higher Estradiol moves Dominance strategy only in some conditions. Read the mechanism.
Cycle-phase 'preference for dominance' is a contested meta-finding, not a hormone dial.
Cases
Sources
- J. Henrich et al. (2001). The evolution of prestige: Freely conferred deference as a mechanism for enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission
- K. Gildersleeve et al. (2014). Do women's mate preferences change across the ovulatory cycle? A meta-analytic review
- W. Wood et al. (2014). Meta-analysis of menstrual cycle effects on women's mate preferences