Social alliances improve rank and fitness in convention-based societies.

ABSTRACT: Social hierarchies are widespread in human and animal societies, and an individual's position in its hierarchy affects both its access to resources and its fitness. Hierarchies are traditionally thought of in terms of variation in individual ability to win fights, but many are structured around arbitrary conventions like nepotistic inheritance rather than such traits as physical strength or weapon size. These convention-based societies are perplexing because position in the hierarchy appears to be gained irrespective of individual physical ability, yet social status strongly affects access to resources and fitness. It remains unclear why individuals abide by seemingly arbitrary conventions regarding social status when they stand to benefit by ignoring these conventions and competing for to

SUBMITTER: Strauss ED 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6500164 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature