Developmental psychology.pdf

Social Behavior 509
Mother- *—Mike Aunt Brent- Uncle WGeorge
Uncle Horatio
Cab driver
Animal Hierarchies In the animal world, which is presumably without titles and
positions, status and role seem to be a function of power, a condition called to scientific
attention years ago by a Norwegian investigator who observed barnyard chickens. The
most dominant chicken pecked all others and was pecked by none in return. Another
chicken pecked all others except the most dominant, which of course pecked it. This
social order extended down to the bottom of the hierarchy, at which one chicken was
pecked by every other chicken and pecked none in return. This hierarchy is known as
a pecking order, and it has been verified in many modern studies (Schjelderup-Ebbe,
1935).
The introduction of a new member requires that the pecking order, or dominance
hierarchy, be changed. The order is also changed when one of the lower chickens
receives an injection of male hormones, for then the chicken rises in the hierarchy.
Research with mice, dogs, monkeys, and many other species shows dominance relations
based on fighting, but the perfect straight-line dominance seen in hens is rare.
Human Hierarchies Among human beings playful aggressiveness in children, if
unchecked or unsupervised, should theoretically result in a dominance based on fighting,
and such a hierarchy develops in street gangs and certain primitive societies (Scott,
1958). A member of one city gang said, "Nutsy was the head of our gang once. I was
his lieutenant. He was bigger than me, and he walloped me different times before I
walloped him. . . . After I walloped him, I told the boys what to do" (Whyte, 1955).
Usually a person's status is based on something other than physical domination.
Bowling performance was closely associated with status in this city gang because
it became the chief social activity of the group. It was the means by which an individual
could gain, lose, or maintain prestige.
Important determinants of status in human society include money, education,
intelligence, and also physical competence, as demonstrated in entertainment and athletics.
Social hierarchies are based on the interaction of many such characteristics.
Figure 18.19
Multiple Roles. Letters from the
fictional character George Apley
illustrate that a person's roles depend
partly on others and partly on his own
status. The "real" George Apley and
the "real" Uncle Horatio are
composites of several different selves
as they interact with different people
in Paris (Marquand, 1937):
Dear Mother: No sooner did we
arrive at the hotel after a very rough
channet crossing than I found again
what a very small place the world is.
There in the dining room were Dr. and
Mrs. Jessup from Mt. Vernon Street,
and Jane Silby and her aunt from
Commonwealth Avenue, and the
Morrows from 3rookline. Aunt Brent
says that the Hotel Metropole is one
of the few hotels in Paris where one
can be sure of meeting congenial
people. . . . Uncle Horatio and our
driver had great difficulty over the
fare, as Uncle Horatio does not
believe in giving more than the usual
ten per cent fee extra We are going
with Dr. and Mrs. Jessup through the
Louvre tomorrow, where I am looking
forward to seeing the Mona
Lisa. . . .
Dear Mike: Well, here I am in Paris
and I wish you were here too. I saw
Wintie over in London and we split a
bottle together in a Public House and
talked about the Club. . . . Uncle
Horatio and Dr. Jessup and I have
been out several evenings to "see
the town." We have been to several
shows. . . . Uncle Horatio is really
quite a "sport" and once he has got
Henrietta and Aunt Brent safely out
of the way you would be surprised at
some on his goings-on. . . . He is
very glad to have a vacation, he says,
from Boston. .
The Leadership Question
In a psychology class, knowledge of the subject matter is the chief means by which an
individual gains status, though other factors are also important. The anticipated class
leader therefore would be the instructor, whose authority clearly was challenged by
the student's derogatory comments. On that occasion the instructor merely paused for
a moment, and then he returned to the lecture.
After a few moments the student stood up once again, and this time he walked
slowly to the lecture platform, mounted the steps, and confronted the instructor directly.
As he stood there in shorts, sandals, and tee shirt, the room became completely
silent. Then the student announced unsteadily, "I hate your necktie." In a truly quavering
voice, he added, "It reminds me of my father." Some students, thinking it was
a joke, which it was not, made derisive catcalls. Others gasped or sat dumbfounded.
Those near the front rose from their seats to leave the area, for there was a look of