PRIDE, PERSONALITY, AND THE EVOLUTIONARY FOUNDATIONS

OF HUMAN SOCIAL STATUS[JOEY T. CHENGA, JESSICA L. TRACYA, JOSEPH HENRICH]

By Monica Wacker and Lance Braud

Pride and the evolution of social statusHigh status promotes higher fitness than low status,

and evidence supports a strong relation between social rank and fitness or well-being (e.g., Barkow, 1975; Cowlishaw & Dunbar,1991; Hill, 1984).

Evolutionary account: emotions are fitness-maximizing affective mechanisms that coordinate cognitive, motivational, physiological, behavioral, and subjective responses to recurrent environmental events of evolutionary significance (Cosmides & Tooby, 2000; Nesse & Ellsworth, 2009)

Why it’s importantTo understand the ultimate mechanisms behind social status as a fitness-maximizing trait, we have to first understand its components.

Research has identified pride as a primary component of attaining social status.

These studies examine the proximate traits of pride based on predications that pride actually has two distinct constructs.

Evolution of Pride(Tracy, Shariff, and Cheng, in press)

Pride may be a major part of the affective suite of mechanisms that:

Motivates status-seeking efforts, providing psychological reinforcement to sustain attained status and also the substrate for signaling status achievements or self-perceived status.

Numerous studies demonstrate conceptual links between pride and status.

For American subjects, pride motivates achievement and perseverance at difficult or tedious tasks; consequent achievements are then rewarded with social approval, acceptance, and high status. (Verbeke, Belschak, & Bagozzi, 2004;Williams & DeSteno, 2008)

Pride Distinctions(Tracy & Robins, 2007)Pride is composed of two distinct and

independent facets that are associated with highly divergent personality traits:

Hubristic pride- the ‘antisocial’ branch, fueled by arrogance and conceit, also associated with narcissism.

Authentic pride- the ‘extraverted’ faucet, marked by feelings of accomplishment, confidence, and success.

Dominance - Prestige TheoryHenrich and Gil-White (2001)

There are two distinct paths to attaining status in humans: dominance and prestige. This theory is advantageous because it can explain why attractive qualities like expertise and success promote high status.Accounts for cultural differences that lead to high status.It explains the attitudes from subordinates toward high-status individuals.The dominance-prestige theory provides a framework for understanding the distal forces that shape preferences for social models and processes of social influence.

DominanceThe use of intimidation and coercion to attain a social status based largely on the effective induction of fear. For animals, social rank is determined on the basis of agonistic encounters.

PrestigeStatus granted to individuals who are recognized and respected for their skills, success or knowledge.

HypothesesHubristic pride and authentic pride evolved

to promote two distinct forms of social status: dominance and prestige.

These studies test whether predictions made by the dominance-prestige theory do indeed show that dominance and prestige result from different components of traits and abilities.

Study 1: MethodsParticipants

n = 191, 70% female, undergraduates

Participants filled out the following measures:❑ Hubristic Scale❑ Authentic Pride-Proneness Scale❑ Big Five Aspects Scale❑ Aggression Questionnaire❑ Inclusionary Status Scale❑ Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

❑ Narcissistic Personality Inventory❑ GPA

Study 1: Results Hubristic pride was positively correlated

with dominance (r=.48) Authentic pride was positively correlated

with prestige (r=.51)

Both associated with: • Narcissistic self-aggrandizement • Conscientiousness

Study 1: Results- dominance

Individuals high in dominance are:Socially dislikedAcquire influence by

• aggression• assertiveness• intimidation• emotional volatility

Study 1: Results- prestigeIndividuals high in prestige tend to be:

Socially accepted High genuine self-esteem Emotional stability Open to new experiences High achieving

Study 1: Results

Study 2: Methods▼ Participants

n=91, 100% male, university varsity athletic teams

Participants completed measures similar to study 1 with the addition of:• Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales

Study 2: MethodsParticipants then peer-reviewed teammates

using:• Dominance scale• Prestige scale• Self-Attributes Questionnaire

• intellectual ability• altruism• cooperativeness• helpfulness• ethicality• morality• "advisorliness"

Study 2: ResultsSimilar to the self-reports in study 1, peer

assessments showed:• Hubristic pride was positively correlated with dominance• Authentic pride was positively correlated with prestige• No correlation between the traits associated with hubristic and authentic pride

Study 2: Results

Study 2: Results

General Discussion• This research establishes a tentative link

between the evolutionary foundations of human status and the psychology of pride.

• Hubristic and authentic pride each have their own personality profiles

• Individuals rated high in hubristic pride  were also viewed as dominant

• Individuals rated high in authentic pride are viewed as prestigious

General DiscussionThe results of this study demonstrate empirical support for Henrich and Gil-White's (2001) conceptualization of group hierarchies by showing that dominance and prestige are distinct status-attainment behavioral strategies that can be reliably assessed from group members.

ResultsThe findings show compelling evidence that: • Dominance and prestige represent divergent

ways of status attainment and maintenance in naturalistic groups.

• The attainment of dominance versus prestige is associated with distinct sets of emotions and traits, and the two pride dispositions are key components of these broader suites;

• Personality traits, social skills, and abilities are strongly related to who attains social status and which form of status is attained.

LimitationsThe use of correlational research disables the establishment of causality.

Selective samples of only North Americans(study1) and all males (study 2)

Difficulty in operationalizing variables

Future StudiesWhat are the consequences of narcissism and self-esteem for status attainment across both genders and in other societies

Future studies should also aim to directly test the causal model suggested by their theoretical account.

Thank You