Subgenual cingulate cortex and personality in chimpanzees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pan troglodytes</Emphasis>)

Animals vary in their dispositions, abilities, and moods and demonstrate characteristic behavior patterns that remain consistent across situation and time. This study describes the relationship between measures of personality in the chimpanzee and the structure of the subgenual cingulate cortex (SGCC). Measures of individual traits and personality factors (dominance, extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) and assessments of percentage of SGCC gray matter (PGM) and asymmetry taken from MRI scans were obtained for 74 chimpanzees housed at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. PGM in the SGCC was significantly higher for females than for males and was significantly correlated with two personality factors (dominance and conscientiousness) in male apes. There was also a population-level leftward asymmetry in the SGCC. These results are discussed in terms of current models of SGCC function, which suggest that this area may play a role in the biological foundation of personality.     

Ethological analysis of the male rat's socioagonistic behavior in a resident-intruder paradigm

The object of the present study was to assess the rat's socioagonistic behavior by means of ethological procedures. Two groups of male Wistar rats were used: 33 residents and 66 intruders. To allow reliable characterization of social and agonistic patterns, social interactions were increased by the isolation of residents and, on the other hand, both offense in residents and defense in intruders were increased by differences in weight, agonistic experience, and habituation to the enclosure. Encounters were videotaped, and the animals' behavior was analyzed by a 27-pattern ethogram and a software package made up to this end. Several patterns parameters were quantified, and two ethological mathematical models were employed: sequential analysis of preferential directions and cluster analysis based on similarities between patterns. Following mean latencies of the most frequent elements, the first four pattern sequences appeared to be the same in both groups of animals. From the fifth pattern on, residents displayed mainly dominance and threat, whereas intruders showed defensive and submissive patterns. Attack was also displayed by residents, but less frequently than dominance and threat. The alpha status was established by two sorts of domination, either through dominance and threat or by attack. The mean frequency of the intraindividual transition of patterns was higher in residents than in intruders. Pathway graphs, derived from sequential analysis, showed some common dyads, triads, or quadrads of patterns, but they basically defined different behavior structures in residents and intruders. Dendrograms, obtained by cluster analysis, allowed classification of patterns into behavior categories. The categories in residents were exploration, dominance, threat, and attack, and they encompassed 18 elements; in intruders the categories were exploration, dominance, and defense, and they consisted of nine patterns. A submissive category composed of three patterns could be also deduced considering similarity results. To summarize, six behavior categories were obtained: one “socioindividual” (exploration) and five “agonistic” (dominance, threat, attack, submission, and defense). In conclusion, the present study shows how ethological procedures may help to elucidate the rat's socioagonistic behavior and to classify the observed patterns into behavior categories.     

Showing-off and aggression in young children

Showing off or display behavior of children has gained little attention in child psychology research, while in the ethological literature the same behavior is a well known phenomenon. To see what role display behavior plays in peer-peer interaction compared to threat and physical aggression, the behavior of 18 children between 3 and 6 years of age was recorded over an entire school year. The frequencies of display behavior, threat and physical aggression were examined and related to the amount of attention a child received from his peers. The attention-rank had proved to be highly related to leadership abilities as well as dominance in children. The results show interesting similarities between the frequency and temporal patterns of display and threat behavior and the attention children pay to each other. Furthermore, older children with more kindergarten experience as well as high status children show a different temporal pattern (high frequencies after holidays and low frequencies before) as well as a higher frequency of display and threat behavior than younger and low status children. Physical aggression is related to attention-rank but shows quite a different temporal pattern. It seems that display or showing off behavior serves as a strategy for children to get high regard in the group.     

DOMINEERINGNESS AND DOMINANCE: A TRANSACTIONAL VIEW

This paper attempts to clarify the conceptualization of interpersonal power dimensions and offers a relational-level definition and measure of dominance. A distinction is made between control movements indicating domineering message behavior and control patterns of dominance. The findings support (1) that domineeringness and dominance are separate control variables, and (2) that different dyadic patterns of satisfaction and interaction style are associated with these two dimensions.     

Sex as a Status Variable in Work Settings: Female and Male Reports of Dominance Behavior

This study shows that sex is an important status variable in occupational settings. The basic hypothesis that males, because of a status prerogative, would be more likely than females to use nonverbal and verbal dominance behaviors, including intimate gestures, toward their opposite sex co-workers was confirmed. Subjects (88 female and 69 male samples from two institutions of higher learning) reported dominance behaviors (a) toward opposite sex co-workers; (b) from opposite sex co-workers; (c) toward opposite sex superiors; and (d) from opposite sex superiors. Analysis of the sexual dominance items revealed that sexual intimacy is expressable along the same continuum as traditional dominance gestures. The hypothesis that sex competes with other status variables was supported. If the sexual dominance patterns explored in this study prove widespread, institutions may wish to provide programs aimed at raising employee awareness of these interactions.     

The others: Universals and cultural specificities in the perception of status and dominance from nonverbal behavior

The current study analyzes trans-cultural universalities and specificities in the recognition of status roles, dominance perception and social evaluation based on nonverbal cues. Using a novel methodology, which allowed to mask clues to ethnicity and cultural background of the agents, we compared impression of Germans, Americans and Arabs observing computer-animated interactions from the three countries. Only in the German stimulus sample the status roles (employee vs. supervisor) could be recognized above chance level. However we found significant correlations in dominance perception across all countries. Significant correlations were only found for evaluation between German observers and observers from the other two countries. Perceived dominance uniformly predicted the assignment of status-roles in all cultures. Microanalysis of movement behavior further revealed predictive value of specific nonverbal cues for dominance ratings. Results support the hypothesis of universalities in the processing of dominance cues and point to cultural specificities in evaluative responses to nonverbal behavior.     

Social Dominance Orientation, Authoritarianism, and Support for Intergroup Violence Between the Middle East and America

Social dominance theory has generally posited that terror and intergroup violence can be explained in terms of social dominance struggles. Social dominance theorists have described terror mostly as a tool for maintaining intergroup hierarchies in society (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Although implications of the theory suggest that terror may also be used by lower status groups as a tool for the resistance of domination by higher status groups, this prediction heretofore has not been empirically demonstrated. Data from two samples, one in the United States and one in Lebanon, were collected regarding attitudes toward terrorism and intergroup violence. The results show that the American sample demonstrates the typical patterns of social dominance such that those who are higher in social dominance orientation tend to support greater violence toward the Middle East. However, the Lebanese sample shows the opposite pattern, such that those who are lower in social dominance orientation tend to support violence toward the West. These results suggest that (1) support for terrorism among Middle East citizens is a project of counterdominance, and, more broadly, that (2) the relationship between social dominance orientation and support for violence depends on the dynamics of the conflict and the status of the perpetrators.     

Status conferral in intergroup social dilemmas: behavioral antecedents and consequences of prestige and dominance

Bridging the literatures on social dilemmas, intergroup conflict, and social hierarchy, the authors systematically varied the intergroup context in which social dilemmas were embedded to investigate how costly contributions to public goods influence status conferral. They predicted that contribution behavior would have opposite effects on 2 forms of status-prestige and dominance-depending on its consequences for the self, in-group and out-group members. When the only way to benefit in-group members was by harming out-group members (Study 1), contributions increased prestige and decreased dominance, compared with free-riding. Adding the option of benefitting in-group members without harming out-group members (Study 2) decreased the prestige and increased the dominance of those who chose to benefit in-group members via intergroup competition. Finally, sharing resources with both in-group and out-group members decreased perceptions of both prestige and dominance, compared with sharing them with in-group members only (Study 3). Prestige and dominance differentially mediated the effects of contribution behavior on leader election, exclusion from the group, and choices of a group representative for an intergroup competition. Taken together, these findings show that the well-established relationship between contribution and status is moderated by both the intergroup context and the conceptualization of status.     

Experimental manipulations of social status and stress-induced cardiovascular responses in high and low trait dominant men

The present study investigated the effect of a mismatch between trait dominance and induced status on cardiovascular reactivity to and recovery from a dyadic interaction task. Eighty normotensive men characterized as either high or low in trait dominance engaged in a discussion requiring persuasive behavior either in the context of a high or low induced status position. The outcome of a rigged competition was used as a marker of status. Induced status was found to moderate cardiovascular recovery of dominance groups. High dominant individuals exhibited less complete recovery of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) when placed in a low compared to high status position, whereas recovery of low dominant individuals tended to show greater impairment in a high status position. Results for changes in emotional states also indicate a detrimental effect of incongruous status positions, particularly for high dominant individuals. Subjective experiences did not mediate cardiovascular effects, though.     

The relationship of social power to visual displays of dominance between men and women

Two studies, with undergraduate subjects, investigated how sex and situation-specific power factors relate to visual behavior in mixed-sex interactions. The power variable in Study 1 was expert power, based on differential knowledge. Mixed-sex dyads were formed such that members had complementary areas of expertise. In Study 2, reward power was manipulated. Consistent with expectation states theory, both men and women high in expertise or reward power displayed high visual dominance, defined as the ratio of looking while speaking to looking while listening. Specifically, men and women high in expertise or reward power exhibited equivalent levels of looking while speaking and looking while listening. High visual dominance ratios have been associated with high social power in previous research. Both men and women low in expertise or reward power looked more while listening than while speaking, producing a relatively low visual dominance ratio. In conditions in which men and women did not possess differential expertise or reward power, visual behavior was related to sex. Men displayed visual behavior similar to their patterns in the high expertise and high reward power conditions, whereas women exhibited visual behavior similar to their patterns in the low expertise and low reward power conditions. The results demonstrate how social expectations are reflected in nonverbal power displays.     

Genetic and environmental influences on person-situation interactions

Genetic and environmental influences on person-situation and person-mode of response interactions for anxiety and for dominance were investigated in an adult twin sample. For anxiety, evidence of significant genetic variance was found for the person-situation interaction and the person-mode of response interaction. For dominance, evidence of shared sibling-environmental influences was found for the person-situation interaction. Sex differences in the patterns of findings were also examined. The data indicate that the factors influencing personsituation interactions vary depending on the specific trait studied, and the results provide empirical support for the “interactionist” hypothesis that an individual's behavior can be characterized by meaningful patterns of behavior across situations. In addition, the study illustrates that behavior-genetic research can be designed to address important theoretical questions about the nature of personality.     

Testosterone and dominance in men

In men, high levels of endogenous testosterone (T) seem to encourage behavior intended to dominate--to enhance one's status over--other people. Sometimes dominant behavior is aggressive, its apparent intent being to inflict harm on another person, but often dominance is expressed nonaggressively. Sometimes dominant behavior takes the form of antisocial behavior, including rebellion against authority and low breaking. Measurement of T at a single point in time, presumably indicative of a man's basal T level, predicts many of these dominant or antisocial behaviors. T not only affects behavior but also responds to it. The act of competing for dominant status affects male T levels in two ways. First, T rises in the face of a challenge, as if it were an anticipatory response to impending competition. Second, after the competition, T rises in winners and declines in losers. Thus, there is a reciprocity between T and dominance behavior, each affecting the other. We contrast a reciprocal model, in which T level is variable, acting as both a cause and effect of behavior, with a basal model, in which T level is assumed to be a persistent trait that influences behavior. An unusual data set on Air Force veterans, in which data were collected four times over a decade, enables us to compare the basal and reciprocal models as explanations for the relationship between T and divorce. We discuss sociological implications of these models.     

Perception of managers’ influence depending on status,power, and company performance

This research examines others’ perception of the influence of managers working in successful or unsuccessful companies who possess or lack status (to be respected by others) and power (control of valued resources). Study 1 shows that high‐status managers were judged as more influential in the firm than their low‐status peers, regardless of the company's situation. Study 2 finds that in a context of economic uncertainty, a manager with high status and power is perceived to be more capable of affecting the firm. The effect of power seems to be secondary since when a manager has low status, having high power does not significantly benefit the influence attributed to him or her. Furthermore, dominance (assertive behavior), not warmth, mediated the relationship between status and the attributed influence. Overall, these findings confirm that status is a very potent source of social influence, status and power are distinct constructs with different effects, and dominance rather than warmth is a key personal dimension linked to successful leadership.     

Negotiating the Double Bind: Interpersonal and Instrumental Evaluations of Dominance

The double bind of dominance—that it can help to attain status but might jeopardize social relationships—was investigated by examining evaluations based on interpersonal skill (e.g., getting along well with others) and instrumental skill (e.g., accomplishing a task). Role congruity theory (Eagly and Diekman 2005; Eagly and Karau 2002) posits that behavior will be evaluated more positively when it is congruent with valued social roles. Two experiments were conducted to explore the importance of context in evaluations of dominance. In both experiments, dominance was more devalued in contexts related to interpersonal skill than in those related to instrumental skill. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the penalty for dominant behavior decreased when the target also displayed warmth, thereby affirming diffuse prosocial roles. Experiment 2 demonstrated that dominant behavior incurred greater penalties in communal versus agentic occupations. The results support a contextual, role-based explanation of evaluative processes.     

Contextual influences on interpersonal complementarity

The influence of context on interpersonal complementarity was examined using an event-contingent recording procedure. Setting and role status moderated the relation between how a person behaved and how the other person behaved. Individuals were more likely to respond with agreeable behavior to agreeableness in others when not at work than when at work and when in a high status work role relative to a low status work role. Reciprocity between dominance and submissiveness was found in work settings but not in nonwork settings. Individuals were more likely to reciprocate more submissive behavior by the other person with more dominant behavior and more likely to reciprocate more dominant behavior by the other person with relatively more submissive behavior when in a higher status work role relative to lower status work roles. Results were interpreted in terms of the influence of decreased structure and shared goals on increasing interpersonal complementarity.     

Development of a complex multiple schedule in the chimpanzee

The development of chimpanzee behavior on a four-component, three-lever multiple schedule is described. Component schedules included the Sidman avoidance procedure with a concurrent discriminated avoidance schedule on a second lever, fixed ratio performance for food, differential reinforcement of low rate for water requiring a dual response chain, and a symbol discrimination task for continuous food reinforcement using three levers. The avoidance component of this schedule was employed during the January 31, 1961 suborbital space flight of the chimpanzee “Ham.” On November 29, 1961, the chimpanzee “Enos” performed on the multiple schedule during three orbits around the earth in a Mercury capsule.     

Contrast of hemispheric lateralization for oro-facial movements between learned attention-getting sounds and species-typical vocalizations in chimpanzees: Extension in a second colony

Studies involving oro-facial asymmetries in nonhuman primates have largely demonstrated a right hemispheric dominance for communicative signals and conveyance of emotional information. A recent study on chimpanzee reported the first evidence of significant left-hemispheric dominance when using attention-getting sounds and rightward bias for species-typical vocalizations (Losin, Russell, Freeman, Meguerditchian, Hopkins & Fitch, 2008). The current study sought to extend the findings from Losin et al. (2008) with additional oro-facial assessment in a new colony of chimpanzees. When combining the two populations, the results indicated a consistent leftward bias for attention-getting sounds and a right lateralization for species-typical vocalizations. Collectively, the results suggest that both voluntary-controlled oro-facial and gestural communication might share the same left-hemispheric specialization and might have coevolved into a single integrated system present in a common hominid ancestor.     

Sex differences in student dominance behavior in female and male professors' classrooms

Measures of verbal participation and interaction among graduate students provided a comparison of male and female dominance behavior in the classroom, and measures of the contextual effect of sex of professor provided further data on the interrelatedness of sex, status, and dominance behavior. Male students were found to exhibit significantly more aggressiveness (interruptive behavior) than female students in both male and female professors' classes, although significantly more male aggressiveness occurred in female professors' classes than in male professors classes. Male students were significantly more assertive (frequency and duration of speech) in female professors' classes only. In student-to-student interaction, aggressiveness was predominantly exchanged between sexes rather than among same-sex members.The author would like to thank Julie Parks and Joanie Rubin for their help with this research.     

Individual and Couple Patterns of Self-views and their Implications for Working with Premarital Couple Relationship Dissatisfaction

A sample of 520 Australian heterosexual couples participating in the PREPARE premarital program completed the multidimensional PREPARE relationship assessment inventory (Olson D. H. Prepare-Enrich Counsellor’s Manual. Brisbane, Australia: Prepare-Enrich, 1996) providing measures of couple relationship satisfaction and individual levels of self-confidence, assertiveness, avoidance, and partner dominance. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for idealistic distortion and couple relationship status, high individual male and female self-confidence and assertiveness, and low individual male and female avoidance and partner dominance, were all significant independent predictors of couple satisfaction. Couples in which both partners were high on self-confidence were significantly more satisfied than couples in which one or both of the partners were low on self-confidence. A similar result was evident for couple patterns involving mutually high assertiveness, low avoidance or low partner dominance, relative to couple patterns in which one or both partners were unassertive, highly avoidant or high in partner dominance. These aspects of self-view point to a salient evidence-based intrapersonal and interpersonal context in which to conduct couple therapy.     

Looking compensates for the distance between mother and infant chimpanzee

The development of visual interaction between mother and infant has received much attention in developmental psychology, not only in humans, but also in non-human primates. Recently, comparative developmental approaches have investigated whether the mechanisms that underlie these behaviors are common in primates. In the present study, we focused on the question of whether chimpanzee mother and infant replace physical contact with visual contact. To test this hypothesis, we measured non-synchronous looking ('looking') between mother and infant. A unique setting, in which the mother chimpanzee stayed in one location and the infant chimpanzee moved freely, allowed us to analyze the relation between the visual interaction and the distance of a mother-infant pair during the first year of life. Our results showed that 'looking' increased when body contact decreased or when the distance between mother and infant increased. We also show a behavioral sequence of typical 'secure base' behavior, a behavior characterized by the infant regularly returning to its mother when exploring the environment. These findings imply that attachment between mother and infant chimpanzee appears to develop in a similar fashion as in humans.