Abstract
This review article is a critique of the theory of attention structure as expounded and propounded by the English primatologist Michael R. A. Chance. The paper reviews the theory of dominance hierarchies in non-human primates; dominance among human children; dominance vs. attention structures; the theory of attention structure; ethological appraisal of the attention structure hypothesis; the structure of attention among political scientists; and social science evaluation of attention structure as theory. The analysis demonstrates that the theory lacks both logical structure and independent empirical support; it is not accepted by leading ethologist commentators; and its appeal among social scientists rests on ideology rather than its use in helping to produce new empirical knowledge. It is concluded that the attention structure hypothesis shows no promise of providing the basis for the construction of viable theories of either the bases for social organization among other primates, or democratic leadership and political structure among humans.
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