Whither dominance? An enduring evolutionary legacy of primate sociality

Abstract

This article discusses dominance personality dimensions found in primates, particularly in the great apes, and how they compare to dominance in humans. Dominance traits are seen in virtually all primate species, and these dimensions reflect how adept an individual is at ascending within a social hierarchy. Among great apes, dominance is one of the most prominent personality factors but, in humans, dominance is usually modeled as a facet of extraversion. Social, cultural, and cognitive differences between humans and our closest ape relatives are explored, alongside humanity’s hierarchical and egalitarian heritage. The basic characteristics of dominance in humans and nonhuman great apes are then described, alongside the similarities and differences between great apes. African apes live in societies each with its own hierarchical organization. Humans were a possible exception for some of our history, but more recently, hierarchies have dominated. The general characteristics of high-dominance humans, particularly those living in industrialized nations, are described. Dominance itself can be subdivided into correlated subfactors: domineering, prestige, and leadership. Various explanations have been posed for why dominance has declined in prominence within human personality factor structures, and several possibilities are evaluated. The value of dominance in personality research is discussed: dominance has links to, for instance, age, sex, aggression, self-esteem, locus of control, stress, health, and multiple socioeconomic status indicators. The piece concludes with recommendations for researchers who wish to assess dominance in personality.

Non-human contributions to personality neuroscience: From fish through primates – a concluding editorial overview

“…They argue from the primate data that discrepancies in human research would be resolved with more broad ranging and nuanced analysis. Consistent with this, Altschul ( 2024 , §1.3) treats dominance as multifaceted, being essentially similar across primates but with a drift of its facets during hominid evolution so that they now each align more with separate traits than with a single dominance factor. Somewhat reminiscent of the rat work with artificially selected strains, Hopkins et al ( 2023 , §1.4) analyzed natural variation in attention skills (using a similar task to human testing) in a large (N = 189) cohort of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) and concluded that low versus high scorers provide “an excellent model for understanding the mechanisms underlying social impairment related to [Autism Spectrum Disorder].” Critically, they obtained Big 5 personality scores from carer ratings and gray matter volume from MRI – finding involvement of extraversion and of the social brain network.…”

“…… Dominance itself can be subdivided into correlated subfactors: domineering, prestige, and leadership. Various explanations have been posed for why dominance has declined in prominence within human personality factor structures.” (Altschul, 2024 )…”

“…Fearless dominance converges with a general factor of dominance or power seeking, as well as any other general construct of dominance or assertiveness. Fearless dominance itself is strongly associated with low behavioural inhibition, high sensation and fun seeking, low anxiety and internalizing, and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) diagnosis.” (Altschul, 2024 ).…”

“…Despite its more diverse nature in humans, Altschul ( 2024 ) emphasizes the importance of studying Dominance given: “…[its] links to, for instance, age, sex, aggression, self-esteem, locus of control, stress, health, and multiple socioeconomic status indicators. ….…”

“…This would allow dominance to be dispersed among other personality constructs. Further, "the lexical method for deriving personality, i.e., using language and questions to tap into traits, is impacted by norms and morals inherent to the culture of the individual, and the language(s) of that culture" (Altschul, 2024). It is possible, then, that our picture of the nature of human dominance is distorted by social and other display rules.…”