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On the High Horse: Why dominant individuals climb the proverbial ladder
April 24, 2008In an attempt to grasp complex concepts, humans have tried to represent abstractions like power and dominance through visually-stimulated metaphors such as pyramids and steeples. And dominance especially has been measured socially, linguistically and artistically on a vertical dimension, as with upper and lower class divisions in hierarchical structures.
While this may be considered a commonly recognized phenomenon, it proved to be an under-researched theory until recently when psychologists from North Dakota State University found a method to understand personality processes through the measurement of metaphoric representations. Specifically, Sara Moeller, Michael Robinson and Darya Zabelina found that individuals high in dominance paid closer attention to stimuli in vertical positions than other participants.
The findings, which appear in the April 2008 issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, imply that a person's level of dominance could be measured based on their biases favoring vertical representations of power.
"Simply stated, more dominant individuals think in dominance-related terms to a greater extent than do less dominant individuals," the authors wrote. "That is, their thoughts more often involve power, powerlessness and relative dominance."
The scientists supported this theory using a simple computer program that prompted participants to press the 'p' or 'q' key when it appeared on the screen. The letters were displayed on the right, left, top or bottom part of the screen. Those individuals who responded quickly when the letters were on the top or bottom of the screen also had high scores in dominance on a personality inventory. The other participants did not show a significant preference for the vertically-arranged letters.
"Our results are among the first to establish the benefits of the metaphor representation perspective for understanding personality processes," explained Moeller, "and they specifically suggest that thinking dominantly predisposes one to see vertically."
Association for Psychological Science
"Simply stated, more dominant individuals think in dominance-related terms to a greater extent than do less dominant individuals," the authors wrote. "That is, their thoughts more often involve power, powerlessness and relative dominance."
The scientists supported this theory using a simple computer program that prompted participants to press the 'p' or 'q' key when it appeared on the screen. The letters were displayed on the right, left, top or bottom part of the screen. Those individuals who responded quickly when the letters were on the top or bottom of the screen also had high scores in dominance on a personality inventory. The other participants did not show a significant preference for the vertically-arranged letters.
"Our results are among the first to establish the benefits of the metaphor representation perspective for understanding personality processes," explained Moeller, "and they specifically suggest that thinking dominantly predisposes one to see vertically."
Association for Psychological Science
Dominance Current Events and Dominance News RSSLuck gave dinosaurs their edge
T. rex and Triceratops: In the popular imagination, dinosaurs are extraordinary reptiles that ruled the world for over 160 million years. But Steve Brusatte, a doctoral student at Columbia University who is an affiliate of the American Museum of Natural History, and colleagues are challenging this idea with new fossil data and math.
Survival instincts propel 'difficult patient' to insist on quality care
Michelle Mayer had to become a "difficult patient" before she could get her physicians to accurately diagnose the disease that was destroying her health.
Newly discovered molecular switch helps decide cell type in early embryo development
Researchers have discovered a central molecular switch in fruit fly embryos that opens new avenues for studying the causes of birth defects and cancer in humans. Writing about their study in the Aug. 12 Developmental Cell, scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center determined the switch to be a main tuning mechanism for instructing cells whether to form sensory nerves or blood cells in different parts of the body.
Whom do we fear or trust?
A pair of Princeton psychology researchers has developed a computer program that allows scientists to analyze better than ever before what it is about certain human faces that makes them look either trustworthy or fearsome.
Yerkes researchers find link between psychological stress and overeating
Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have found socially subordinate female rhesus macaques over consume calorie-rich foods at a significantly higher level than do dominant females.
MIT study suggests caution on new anti-obesity drug in kids
Anti-obesity drugs that work by blocking brain molecules similar to those in marijuana could also interfere with neural development in young children, according to a new study from MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.
Meteorites delivered the 'seeds' of Earth's left-hand life
Flash back three or four billion years - Earth is a hot, dry and lifeless place. All is still. Without warning, a meteor slams into the desert plains at over ten thousand miles per hour. With it, this violent collision may have planted the chemical seeds of life on Earth.
Subordinate monkeys more likely to choose cocaine over food
Having a lower social standing increases the likelihood that a monkey faced with a stressful situation will choose cocaine over food, according to a study at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. More dominant monkeys undergoing the same stressful situation had fewer changes in brain activity in areas of the brain involved in stress and anxiety and were less likely to choose cocaine.
Carnegie Mellon researchers to curb CO2 emissions
Carnegie Mellon University's Chris T. Hendrickson and H. Scott Matthews along with Alex Carpenter and Heather MacLean of the University of Toronto challenge Canadian officials to take the lead in eliminating dangerous carbon dioxide emissions that fuel global warming.
Clovis-age overkill didn't take out California's flightless sea duck
Clovis-age natives, often noted for overhunting during their brief dominance in a primitive North America, deserve clemency in the case of California's flightless sea duck. New evidence says it took thousands of years for the duck to die out.
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