Abstract
The thesis of this chapter is that the predictability or controllability of individuals within certain dyads or more complex relationships—such as in the human nuclear family, between playmates, or between nonhumans living in structured groups—is an important factor in the dynamics of these social units. This idea will be illustrated principally with findings from research on animal behavior. First, the case will be made that dominance and subordinance structures are characteristic of many interindividual behavior patterns, human and nonhuman alike. Next, an argument will be made that one consequence of a dominance relationship between individuals is that it yields and ensures their mutual predictability or controllability, which in turn promotes the functioning and longevity of the global relationship. A corollary will then be drawn that the above principle can be illustrated in the case where two (or more) individuals who are not yet in a dominance relationship encounter one another. That is, reactions to strangers—xenophobia in particular—will be reviewed. Attention will focus on the xenophobic behavior of a variety of nonhuman species, with special reference to the introduction of strangers into primate groups. The relevance of this literature for an understanding of compatible and incompatible human relationships will then be discussed.
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Rajecki, D.W. (1985). Predictability and Control in Relationships: A Perspective from Animal Behavior. In: Ickes, W. (eds) Compatible and Incompatible Relationships. Springer Series in Social Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5044-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5044-9_2
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