News tagged with dominance hierarchy

Bull elephants' social behavior varies with the rainfall

(PhysOrg.com) -- The lone bull elephant is an image as iconic to the African savanna as the lonesome cowboy on horseback is to the American West. Although female elephants form tightly knit groups guided ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 15, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

High social rank comes at a price, researchers find

Being at the very top of a social hierarchy may be more costly than previously thought, according to a new study of wild baboons led by a Princeton University ecologist.

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Jul 14, 2011 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Birdsong independent of brain size

(PhysOrg.com) -- The brains of all vertebrates display gender-related differences. In songbirds, for example, the size of the brain areas that control their singing behaviour could be linked to the size of ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 13, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Staring contests are automatic: People lock eyes to establish dominance

Imagine that you're in a bar and you accidentally knock over your neighbor's beer. He turns around and stares at you, looking for confrontation. Do you buy him a new drink, or do you try to outstare him to make him back off? ...

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Feb 25, 2011 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 5

Rethinking sexism: Study examines how society maintains the status quo

There is a tendency to think that only men treat women in a sexist way, but a new study by a University of Miami researcher and his daughter shows that both men and women participate in maintaining a gender hierarchy in our ...

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 3

Being a standout has its benefits, study shows

Standing out in a crowd is better than blending in, at least if you're a paper wasp in a colony where fights between nest-mates determine social status.

Biology / Evolution

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 1