Coalitions, Dominance and Egalitarianism

Florida State University, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Abstract

Cooperation and dominance are central to the study of animal social relations, a remarkable feature of which is the emergence and persistence of linear dominance hierarchies or "pecking orders." For well over half a century, the conventional theoretical approach to cooperation and dominance has been to study them separately. But this approach ultimately yields diminishing returns, because each phenomenon incorporates crucial aspects of the other. On the one hand, a dominance hierarchy is a cooperative structure: well organized groups, in which each individual knows and is fairly resigned to its particular social status, are more productive than similar groups in a constant state of organizational turmoil. On the other hand, there are individual benefits to holding high rank within a dominance hierarchy, and animals can help themselves obtain those benefits by forming coalitions with others. The investigator studies these connections between cooperation and dominance by developing a suite of analytical and computational models to predict the effects of coalition formation on the emergence and stability of dominance hierarchies versus more egalitarian social structures, and to identify conditions that favor each possible outcome. The models are "games," i.e., mathematical models of strategic interaction. There is no formal theory to predict the effects of coalitions and domoinance hierarchies on each other, yet such theory is urgently needed to guide and interpret field studies in the biological and social sciences. The development of such a formal theory also leads to advances in game-theoretic techniques. Moreover, because there are good reasons to suppose that mechanisms for social stability are broadly similar across different kinds of groups, the project has likely implications for conflict resolution among humans. In particular, the results of the project should help to resolve an ongoing controversy in anthropology between those who argue that egalitarian societies are deliberately shaped by their members, with the political rank and file creating a "reverse dominance hierarchy," and those who stress that levelling mechanisms operate independently of people's intentions. Finally, a central goal is to develop an online game theory workshop for students in the life and social sciences. All materials developed during the project -- in particular, numerous game-theoretic computer programs -- are made freely available through this web site. It therefore serves as a permanent legacy, with the potential to strengthen the modelling skills of every student of game theory.