Dominance Hierarchy and Clinical Course of Psychiatrically Hospitalized Boys

Territoriality in Organizations

“…Power in organizations stems from the control of scarce, valuable resources and the ability to exploit that control through various strategies (Hickson, Hinings, Schneck, & Pennings, 1972;Pfeffer, 1981). Similarly, territoriality is concerned with the control of organizational resources; territories represent valued organizational objects over which members make proprietary claims (Esser, 1968(Esser, , 1973. Moreover, one of the reasons individuals may be motivated to engage in territorial behaviors is to gain the influence and strategic advantage that control of some object may afford them in the organization.…”

Contesting the “territorial aggression thesis” in environmental psychology, ca. 1965–1980

“…On the other hand, the fact that naturalistic fieldwork was the dominant method made the research on human territoriality all the more important for the methodological aspirations of the field. A large part of the work consisted of long‐term studies in institutions where people were not free to leave, such as psychiatric wards and prisons (e.g., Esser, ), a factor that made generalizations questionable. Aristide Esser was probably the most prolific researcher but he will be discussed in the next section because of his clear biological orientation.…”

“…The psychiatrist Aristide H. Esser (1930–) conducted a lot of studies on the relationship between territoriality and dominance amongs psychiatric patients (e.g., Esser, ; Esser, Chamberlain, Chapple, & Kline, ), using ethological models and claiming that understanding the evolutionary developed functions of human territoriality was crucial. Even though he subscribed to some extent to the idea of territorial aggression in humans, his model was not deterministic nor did it come from Ardrey.…”

“…Even though he subscribed to some extent to the idea of territorial aggression in humans, his model was not deterministic nor did it come from Ardrey. Esser aimed at solving problems connected both to the clinical management of patients, ward structure and group cohesion (Esser, , p. 147; Esser et al., , p. 44), as well as to wider questions of developing what he called a “truly pluralistic society.” Esser promoted the need to regulate, plan and design on the one hand, and to educate and foster cooperation on the other. His goal was to help humans to “become fully human” and to take advantage of what Calhoun called “conceptual space” (Esser, , p. 26; Esser, , pp.…”

Leave-Taking Behavior between Preschool Children and Their Parents

“…A few workers have conducted observational studies of human behavior as the e thologist has done with animal behavior. They recorded specific behavioral elements of spontaneously occurring social interaction without interfering with or modifying them (e. g ., Esser, 1968;Wolff and Chess, 1964).…”