scholarly journals The glucocorticoid receptor in the nucleus accumbens plays a crucial role in social rank attainment in rodents

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Papilloud ◽  
Meltem Weger ◽  
Alexandre Bacq ◽  
Ioannis Zalachoras ◽  
Fiona Hollis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Glucocorticoid Receptor ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Social Species ◽  
High Anxious ◽  
A Cell

AbstractSocial hierarchy in social species is usually established through competitive encounters with conspecifics. It determines the access to limited resources and, thus, leads to reduced fights among individuals within a group. Despite the known importance of social rank for health and well-being, the knowledge about the processes underlying rank attainment remains limited. Previous studies have highlighted the nucleus accumbens (NAc) as a key brain region in the attainment of social hierarchies in rodents. In addition, glucocorticoids and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) have been implicated in the establishment of social hierarchies and social aversion. However, whether GR in the NAc is involved in social dominance is not yet known. To address this question, we first established that expression levels of GR in the NAc of high anxious, submissive-prone rats are lower than that of their low anxious, dominant-prone counterparts. Furthermore, virally-induced downregulation of GR expression in the NAc in rats led to an improvement of social dominance rank. We found a similar result in a cell-specific mouse model lacking GR in dopaminoceptive neurons (i.e., neurons containing dopamine receptors). Indeed, when cohabitating in dyads of mixed genotypes, mice deficient for GR in dopaminoceptive neurons had a higher probability to become dominant than wild-type mice. Overall, our results highlight GR in the NAc and in dopaminoceptive neurons as an important regulator of social rank attainment.

Social Dominance and Leadership

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Martin ◽  
Yotam Heineberg
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Negative Behaviors ◽  
The Relationship

Leadership is usually a mandatory component of business education. Here we used the model of transformational leadership, and operationalized leadership consistently with the Values in Action Leadership scale. Social dominance orientation is a hierarchical belief-system that attributes social rank, ranging from high to low. Business students have been found to have higher levels of Social Dominance Orientation (SDO. Accordingly, 371 working business students were sampled to establish the relationship between SDO and transformational leadership capacity. The mediational impact of compassion was assessed. This study found high levels of competitive and hierarchical world conceptualization was significantly and sometimes strongly negatively linked to these constructs (Martin et al., 2014). We also discuss preliminary results of an interpersonal compassion-based intervention. The research suggests the opportunity to broaden psychological well-being of employees with impactful interventions, since negative behaviors within an institution can raise healthcare costs and lower job performance.

scholarly journals The glucocorticoid receptor in the nucleus accumbens plays a crucial role in social rank attainment in rodents

2020 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 104538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Papilloud ◽  
Meltem Weger ◽  
Alexandre Bacq ◽  
Ioannis Zalachoras ◽  
Fiona Hollis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Glucocorticoid Receptor ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Social Rank

The relationship between live-weight and herbage intake in grazing cattle

1967 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hodgson ◽  
J. M. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Herbage Intake ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Independent Effects ◽  
Mixed Age

Six dry cows, six in-calf heifers and six yearling calves grazed in groups of six, arranged either in single age groups or mixed age groups; the arrangements alternated, and each was repeated three times in a continuous grazing sequence with six-day periods. All the animals grazed together for a preliminary period of seven days. Under each arrangement the cattle grazed on a mature sward for two periods, and on an aftermath for one period. Access to fresh and grazed herbage was restricted by electric fences which were moved daily, but the amount of fresh herbage offered was well in excess of appetite at all times.Records of live-weight, herbage intake, grazing behaviour and social dominance ranking were obtained for all individuals. There was a close relationship between live-weight (LW) and herbage organic matter intake (OMI) in each grazing period, and the regression equations for the six periods were very similar. The best-fit exponent of LW for the pooled results was 0·61±0·038; this was significantly different from 0·73 and 1·0. The exponent increased to 0·71±0·045 when the cow data were excluded. The inclusion of weight change as a third variable was only of value in the mature sward.The calves ate significantly more, and the cows tended to eat more, when grazing in mixed age groups. These differences could not be explained by differences in the time spent grazing.There were high simple correlations between LW and OMI, between social dominance rank and OMI, and between LW and rank, particularly in the mixed age groups. When variations in LW were excluded, dominance rank had little influence on OMI in the mixed age groups, but the independent effects of LW and social rank on OMI were of approximately equal importance in the single age groups.

Dominance and Prestige: A Tale of Two Hierarchies

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 526-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon K. Maner
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Leadership Strategies ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Strategic Behaviors ◽  
Current Article

Dominance and prestige represent evolved strategies used to navigate social hierarchies. Dominance is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by using coercion, intimidation, and power. Prestige is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by displaying valued knowledge and skills and earning respect. The current article synthesizes recent lines of research documenting differences between dominance- versus prestige-oriented individuals, including personality traits and emotions, strategic behaviors deployed in social interactions, leadership strategies, and physiological correlates of both behaviors. The article also reviews effects that dominance versus prestige have on the functioning and well-being of social groups. The article also presents opportunities for future research and discusses links between dominance and prestige and the social psychological literature on power and status.

scholarly journals Social life histories: jackdaw dominance increases with age, terminally declines and shortens lifespan

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1791) ◽  
pp. 20141045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Verhulst ◽  
Moniek Geerdink ◽  
H. Martijn Salomons ◽  
Jelle J. Boonekamp
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Resource Access ◽  
Accelerate Senescence ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Somatic State

Behaviour may contribute to changes in fitness prospects with age, for example through effects of age-dependent social dominance on resource access. Older individuals often have higher dominance rank, which may reflect a longer lifespan of dominants and/or an increase in social dominance with age. In the latter case, increasing dominance could mitigate physiological senescence. We studied the social careers of free-living jackdaws over a 12 year period, and found that: (i) larger males attained higher ranks, (ii) social rank increased with age within individuals, and (iii) high-ranked individuals had shorter lifespan suggesting that maintaining or achieving high rank and associated benefits comes at a cost. Lastly, (iv) social rank declined substantially in the last year an individual was observed in the colony, and through its effect on resource access this may accelerate senescence. We suggest that behaviour affecting the ability to secure resources is integral to the senescence process via resource effects on somatic state, where behaviour may include not only social dominance, but also learning, memory, perception and (sexual) signalling. Studying behavioural effects on senescence via somatic state may be most effective in the wild, where there is competition for resources, which is usually avoided in laboratory conditions.

scholarly journals Longevity of Willow Tits (Poecile montanus): the significance of flock membership, social rank and body size

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Olav Hogstad ◽  
Tore Slagsvold
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
High Rank ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Willow Tit ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Winter Flocks ◽  
Main Factor

The Willow Tit Poecile montanus is highly sedentary and breeding pairs remain in their exclusive areas throughout the year. During the winter, these areas are defended by small, non-kin flocks, formed as the roaming yearlings become sedentary and join adults during late summer and autumn. Once established, stable social hierarchies are maintained in these flocks during the winter. The winter flocks consist normally of the socially dominant adult mated pair and two mated juvenile pairs, one higher-ranked and one lower-ranked. Individually colour-ringed juvenile Willow Tits were followed over years in subalpine forest in Norway from ringing in the autumn till they disappeared. None of the lower ranked birds survived their first winter, whereas only 4 of 71 higher-ranked juvenile pairs disappeared during this time. Half of the 71 pairs survived their first winter, about 25 % survived two winters, 8.5% survived three winters, and 5.6% survived four winters. Survival was similar for males and females. Alpha pairs remained mated and defended their common territory across years. Maximum age as revealed by ringing showed one female became six years old and two males ringed as adults were at least nine years old when last observed. The main factor associated with survival was early flock establishment that led to a high rank position among the juvenile flock members. Body size seemed insignificant. Birds that survived their first winter either succeeded to establish as territory owners or they were forced into the role as floaters and probably perished.

scholarly journals Increased Conformity to Social Hierarchy Under Public Eyes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daeeun Kim ◽  
JuYoung Kim ◽  
Hackjin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Fear Of Negative Evaluation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Individual Preferences ◽  
The Social

Why would people conform more to others with higher social positions? People may place higher confidence in the opinions of those who rank higher in the social hierarchy, or they may wish to make better impressions on people of higher social status. We investigated how individual preferences for novel stimuli are influenced by the preferences of others in the social hierarchy and whether anonymity affects such preference changes. After manipulation of their social rank, participants were asked to indicate how much they liked or disliked a series of images. Then, they were shown the rating given to each image by a partner (either inferior or superior in social rank) and were given a chance to adjust their ratings. The participants were more likely to change their preferences to match those of a superior partner in the public vs. private condition. The tendency to conform to the views of the superior partner was stronger among those with higher social dominance orientation (SDO) and those with greater fear of negative evaluation (FNE) by others. Altogether, the findings suggest that the motivation to make better impressions on people of higher social status can be the major driver of conformity to others with higher social positions.

Social ranking in animal and human societies

Ranking ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 42-64
Author(s):  
Péter Érdi
Keyword(s):  
Social Rank ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Social Ranking ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Physical Size ◽  
The Social ◽  
Network Organizations ◽  
Group Members

This chapter studies how social ranking in humans emerged as the result of an evolutionary process. It starts with the story of the discovery of pecking order among chickens by a Norwegian boy. Both animals and humans need a healthy balance between cooperation and competition to ensure evolutionarily efficient strategies. The biological machinery behind social ranking is discussed. There are two distinct mechanisms for navigating the social ladder: dominance and prestige. Dominance, an evolutionarily older strategy, is based on the ability to intimidate other members in the group by physical size and strength. The group members don’t accept dominance-based social rank freely, only by coercion. Members of a colony fight, and the winners of these fights will be accepted as “dominants” and the losers as “subordinates.” The naturally formed hierarchy serves as a way to prevent superfluous fighting and injuries within a colony. Prestige, as a strategy, is evolutionarily younger and is based on skills and knowledge as appraised by the community. Prestige hierarchies are maintained by the consent of the community, without pressure being applied by particular members. The mechanisms of forming and maintaining social hierarchies are described. Social structures, both hierarchies and network organizations, are reviewed. Discussion of these structures is carried over to social and political history and the tension between democracy and authoritarianism.

Behavioural consistency and group conformity in humbug damselfish

Behaviour ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (13-15) ◽  
pp. 1343-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia L.J. Burns ◽  
Timothy M. Schaerf ◽  
Ashley J.W. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Absolute Size ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Behavioural Type ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Dascyllus Aruanus

Abstract Humbug damselfish, Dascyllus aruanus, are a common coral reef fish that form stable social groups with size-based social hierarchies. Here we caught whole wild groups of damselfish and tested whether social groups tended to be comprised of animals that are more similar to one another in terms of their behavioural type, than expected by chance. First we found that individuals were repeatable in their level of activity and exploration, and that this was independent of both absolute size and within-group dominance rank, indicating that animals were behaviourally consistent. Secondly, despite the fact that individuals were tested independently, the behaviour of members of the same groups was significantly more similar than expected under a null model, suggesting that individual behaviour develops and is shaped by conformity to the behaviour of other group members. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate this group-level behavioural conformity in wild-caught groups.

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