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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–4Cite as

Women’s Prosocial Dominant Acts

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Synonyms

Female strategies; Prosociality; Social hierarchy; Social status

Definition

Females display a sex-specific pattern of expressions of dominance, which is a universal feature of human psychology.

Introduction

Dominance is a common strategy for achieving social influence across social species, including among humans. Dominance can be defined as the use of aggression, threats, fear, and intimidation to attain and maintain disproportionate levels of influence within a social group (Barkow 1989), and evidence suggests there are important sex differences in the expression of dominance (Buss 1981). Among sexually dimorphic species, females are often at a disadvantage concerning dominance-based strategies for achieving social influence (Archer 1988). This disadvantage can be compounded by sociocultural factors limiting female political participation (Rosaldo 1974). However, a close review of experimental literature and social systems in small-scale society reveals that women do...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA

    Zachary H. Garfield & Melissa J. Garfield

Authors
  1. Zachary H. Garfield
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  2. Melissa J. Garfield
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zachary H. Garfield .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Psychology Department, University of Redlands, 1200 E. Colton Avenue, 92373, Redlands, CA, USA

    Jessica Hehman

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Garfield, Z.H., Garfield, M.J. (2017). Women’s Prosocial Dominant Acts. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2613-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2613-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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