Status Competition Research Articles

Rhinos and Hippos, Oh My!

Abstract Laurent Obertone is virtually unknown outside the French-speaking world. The author of bestselling fiction and nonfiction works on crime, immigration, and civil war in France, Obertone maintains a cult following despite being exiled from mainstream media. This article examines the motifs of Obertone's work, focusing on human domestication, that is, the tendency of prosperous societies to excuse criminal behavior due to guilt, virtue signaling, and fear of conflict. Obertone sees French judicial laxity as a product of misguided humanitarianism coupled with status competition among elites to show the greatest indulgence toward criminals. This attitude is pushing France toward civil conflict, as criminals take advantage of a culture de l'excuse. Ultimately, Obertone's critique is of the “open society” consensus of the postwar West. Anti-authoritarian impulses are maladaptive in a climate of mass immigration and rapid social change, and if France does not take maintaining order seriously, the result will be catastrophic.

Red Queen in Australia

Change in Holocene Australia is typically depicted as establishing greater control over the environment, with heightened prosperity, growth of social complexity, status competition, intergroup congregation, and population. Endogenous social processes altered Australian forager life yielding, on average, increased per capita output. Those claims were named Intensification. We critique that concept, re-evaluate evidence, and conclude there is no evidence for release from environmental constraint or heightened prosperity.Our model is more capable of explaining change in Holocene Australia. This Red Queen model claims cultural changes reflect unfavourable alterations in economic opportunity, driven by coevolution with dingos during worsening environmental conditions. Restructured environments with fewer high ranked foods led to greater diet breadth, expansion into marginal landscapes, and focus on atypical resource rich spots. By increasing their labour groups sought to maintain population size, this strategy reducing the likelihood of neighbouring groups seizing resource hot spots. Foragers responded to tensions with neighbours over resource access by magnifying social defence, offering limited use of resources in return for maintenance of territorial control. Those political negotiations constructed moderately stable alliances. We test the Red Queen model and show it, not Intensification, explains the emergence of ethnographically identified social interactions, economy and settlement systems.

Defending the islands, defending the self: Taiwan, sovereignty and the origin of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute as ontological security-seeking

The dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands is generally analysed as a Sino-Japanese competition over material and strategic interests, regional preponderance, and nationalistic symbolism. Yet, such explanations cannot fully explain the endurance of the conflict and overlook its origin in the period leading up to the UN’s derecognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty in 1971. Drawing on the concept of ontological security, defined as ‘security of the self’, we contend that it was the looming loss of its sovereign self that prompted Taiwan (Republic of China, ROC) to assert itself as the true defender of Chinese interests by laying claim to the islands. This caused anxiety in China (People’s Republic of China, PRC), which had to follow suit in order to secure its own sovereign self. China thus inherited the conflict with Japan when it took over the ‘true China’ mantle upon its entry to the UN in 1971. Extant explanations overlook the important factor of inter-Chinese competition over sovereign selfhood. In developing this argument, the article makes two contributions. First, it draws attention to a much-overlooked early phase of the dispute, and shows how the same dynamics of ROC–PRC status competition continue to inform the dispute between China and Japan today. Second, it contributes to the literature on ontological security by conceptualising the ‘self’ as sovereign state personhood, thereby further clarifying the distinction between self and identity, and highlighting the relational effects of ontological security-seeking.

Status competition or Conflict of interest: Understanding China-India Asymmetrical rivalry in the Indian Ocean region

Status competition in world politics always played a greater role, especially the developing powers who strive for greater status in world politics, and so do both India and China. This article tries to examine the nature of the conflict between India and China through the framework of Status competition while at the same time comparatively examining it with other conflict models such as Conflict of interest, Zero-sum game, and Status Dilemma. The article demonstrates that India-China relations in general and in the IOR (Indian Ocean region) should not always be scrutinized through the zero-sum game concept. The status competition model differs from other conflict models in many ways. The status competition model can accommodate the asymmetrical power gap between India and China in IOR. Also, the model provides policymakers in Beijing and New Delhi to avoid conflict-ridden zero-sum game thinking.

Free Riding in Status Competition

Free Riding in Status Competition

Free Riding in Status Competition

Free Riding in Status Competition

Iridescent Beetle Adornments Suggest Incipient Status Competition among the Earliest Horticulturalists in Bears Ears National Monument

AbstractAnthropological research has long theorized that emergent food-producing economies catalyzed high levels of inequality in human societies, as evident in the earliest use of jewelry made from gold, copper, and other precious minerals among early agricultural populations. Although the US Southwest appears to have been an exception, we report the discovery of two Basketmaker II period necklaces constructed of green iridescent scarab beetle femora, which suggests a homologous association between emergent agriculture and inequality. Drawing insight from ethnography, archaeology, entomology, and evolutionary ecology, we hypothesize that these and other jewelry items of Basketmaker II culture were visually prominent, honest signals of socioeconomic capital that emerged during a period of surplus food production and incipient wealth accumulation. It appears that Basketmaker II societies—like other emergent food-producing economies around the world—grappled with the opportunities and challenges that arise with surplus production, albeit in a distinct way that involved visually striking insect and feather adornments as status signals. Archaeologists may have previously overlooked this behavior due to Western biases that privilege precious metals and minerals as prestige objects and archaeological biases that tend to view insects as food or agents of site disturbance.

Sistemele de arme autonome letale – tehnologie emergentă și potențial nimicitoare

"The renewal of the competition for the super power status has led to the revival of the emphasis on defense planning, by the great powers, on the capabilities intended for so-called high-end conventional, technological sophisticated warfare, which involves large-scale and high-intensity military actions. Weapons that can be linked to waging high-end warfare actually include the military uses of the lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) and artificial intelligence (AI). The connection between robotics, and autonomous systems and AI has the potential to change the nature of warfare. Theoretically, a lethal weapon system should be considered autonomous if it is designed so that it can modify its integrated programming, does not take into account the objectives initially set and modifies its rules of engagement without human intervention. Human judgment will remain essential, but the line between what humans and machines do best will constantly be shifting in the coming years. The most critical dimension of autonomy is the task the machine is performing. There are significant expectations and challenges, opportunities, and risks associated with LAWS across the full range of military operations. LAWS will influence military operations in the future and will have at least an evolutionary – if not revolutionary – effect."

Sistemele de arme autonome letale – tehnologie emergentă și potențial nimicitoare

"The renewal of the competition for the super power status has led to the revival of the emphasis on defense planning, by the great powers, on the capabilities intended for so-called high-end conventional, technological sophisticated warfare, which involves large-scale and high-intensity military actions. Weapons that can be linked to waging high-end warfare actually include the military uses of the lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) and artificial intelligence (AI). The connection between robotics, and autonomous systems and AI has the potential to change the nature of warfare. Theoretically, a lethal weapon system should be considered autonomous if it is designed so that it can modify its integrated programming, does not take into account the objectives initially set and modifies its rules of engagement without human intervention. Human judgment will remain essential, but the line between what humans and machines do best will constantly be shifting in the coming years. The most critical dimension of autonomy is the task the machine is performing. There are significant expectations and challenges, opportunities, and risks associated with LAWS across the full range of military operations. LAWS will influence military operations in the future and will have at least an evolutionary – if not revolutionary – effect."

"Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems – Emerging and Potentially Disruptive Technology"

"The renewal of the competition for the super power status has led to the revival of the emphasis on defense planning, by the great powers, on the capabilities intended for so-called high-end conventional, technological sophisticated warfare, which involves large-scale and high-intensity military actions. Weapons that can be linked to waging high-end warfare actually include the military uses of the lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) and artificial intelligence (AI). The connection between robotics, and autonomous systems and AI has the potential to change the nature of warfare. Theoretically, a lethal weapon system should be considered autonomous if it is designed so that it can modify its integrated programming, does not take into account the objectives initially set and modifies its rules of engagement without human intervention. Human judgment will remain essential, but the line between what humans and machines do best will constantly be shifting in the coming years. The most critical dimension of autonomy is the task the machine is performing. There are significant expectations and challenges, opportunities, and risks associated with LAWS across the full range of military operations. LAWS will influence military operations in the future and will have at least an evolutionary – if not revolutionary – effect."

Reclaiming Care and Privacy in the Age of Social Media

AbstractSocial media has invaded our private, professional, and public lives. While corporations continue to portray social media as a celebration of self-expression and freedom, public opinion, by contrast, seems to have decidedly turned against social media. Yet we continue to use it just the same. What is social media, and how should we live with it? Is it the promise of a happier and more interconnected humanity, or a vehicle for toxic self-promotion? In this essay I examine the very structure of social media communications in order to sketch how we should engage with social media. Social media communications are, I argue, a public communication of private content. This allows connections to be made with others in ways that would not otherwise be possible; however, it also submits the private to a status competition, which in turn is linked to mental health challenges. A ‘virtuous’ engagement with social media means being aware of these dynamics, and choosing to subordinate social media to other, more important goods.

Women’s Intrasexual Competitiveness and Jealousy Across the Ovulatory Cycle: A Hormone-Based Study

Research on social status competition among women suggests that underlying hormonal shifts associated with the ovulatory cycle systematically drive alterations in preferences and behavior. Specifically, it is proposed that the fertile window, marked by heightened estradiol and lower progesterone levels, is related to increased psychological motivation for intrasexual social comparison, leading to increasing competitiveness and jealousy. In this pre-registered, longitudinal study, 257 women provided saliva samples for hormone assays, rated the attractiveness of other women, and self-reported intrasexual competitiveness and jealousy across four testing sessions. Multilevel analyses revealed no compelling evidence for (hormone-related) cycle shifts in intrasexual competitiveness, attractiveness ratings, or jealousy. Rather, women higher in intrasexual competitiveness seem to rate other women as more attractive in general. We discuss how our results contribute to a growing body of literature suggesting that women’s social attitudes and preferences are more stable and less hormonally influenced than previously assumed.

Knowledge Communities in US Foreign Policy Making: The American China Field and the End of Engagement with the PRC

The United States’ long-standing approach to the People’s Republic of China—“engagement”—is at an end, replaced by a tougher approach, labeled “strategic competition.” Foregrounding the role of knowledge communities in the making of US foreign policy, I show that engagement’s demise followed less a rational process responding to shifts in Chinese behavior and the balance of power, and more a paradigmatic turnover in key individuals’ views of China within the government and the China expert community. Adopting a sociological perspective attuned to the social and professional underpinnings of US foreign policy, I trace the paradigmatic turnover in US views of China to three processes: politicization, professional status competition, and personalization. Drawing on a range of sources, including over one hundred original interviews with members of the US China expert community, this article traces the entanglement of engagement at once political, professional, and deeply personal.

The Status Dilemma in World Politics: An Anatomy of the China–India Asymmetrical Rivalry

Abstract The role of status in world politics has become an important research topic. This article examines China–India relations through a new framework for status dilemmas. This article, through a careful comparison of the status dilemma with other models of conflict, clarifies the logic and mechanism of status dilemmas in world politics. In particular, it differentiates between the status competition model and the status dilemma model. The status dilemma entails overestimation of the competitive nature of the status relationship and underestimation of the potential compatibility of the status goal. The article demonstrates that the China–India relationship is not always a zero-sum game, even though its competitive nature is real. Asymmetrical power and motivated reasoning contribute to misunderstanding and misperception. The power asymmetry makes India oversensitive to Chinese actions, and it makes China less sensitive to India’s concerns. Motivated reasoning, based on historical memory and domestic politics, moreover, makes India’s perception of China more negative and competitive than China’s apprehension of India. The status dilemma has broad implications for power politics in the new era which suggest that policymakers should realistically evaluate the challenges of status competition while avoiding deterministic zero-sum thinking.

Dynamic inefficiency by promoting relative consumption

AbstractI develop a dynamic model of consumption variety in status goods by introducing a realistic aspect that is new in the existing literature—that a good will not carry status appeal unless it is advertised. As advertisements will divert resources from new product research, growth in new products will be reduced. However, status-good advertisements also enhance distinctiveness of a good and increase a firm’s profit. This will motivate more researches. With the two effects offsetting each other, the original market bias in a standard product-development model—insufficient research due to a general knowledge spillover—cannot be overcome. While introducing advertising into models of this kind does not reverse the original welfare implication of suboptimal growth, this makes available a new and better intervention option—taxing advertisements. This tax is superior to consumption tax, the conventional solution to inefficient status competition, as consumption tax is found to be ineffective in the present model. It is also superior to research subsidies, the conventional solution to suboptimal growth, as subsidies must be financed and is not a self-sufficient policy.

Support or Suppress? Research on the Mechanism of Employee's GNS on Innovation Performance: From the Perspective of Status Competition.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how supervisor’s mental state and behavior choice affect the relationship between employees’ strong growth need (GNS) and their innovation performance. Using 210 sets of supervisor-subordinate dyads data from two-wave survey, this research reveals that GNS has a significant positive effect on innovation performance, and leader–member exchange (LMX) mediates the effect of GNS on innovation performance. Supervisor perceived status threat moderates the relationship between GNS and LMX, such that this relationship gets weaker for supervisors with higher perceived status threat. Furthermore, supervisor perceived status threat moderates the relationship between GNS and innovation performance, such that this relationship becomes weaker for supervisors with higher perceived status threat. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research avenues.

Status Competition and Implicit Coordination: Based on the Role of Knowledge Sharing and Psychological Safety

Implicit coordination is an important research topic in the field of social cognition. Previous studies have studied implicit coordination behavior from the perspective of team mental model but ignored the internal mechanism of individual status competition motivation on implicit coordination behavior. Based on the differences of status competition motivation, the individual status competition motivation is divided into prestige-type and dominant-type. With knowledge sharing as the mediating variable and psychological safety as the moderating variable, this research constructed a process model of the influence of status competition motivation on implicit coordination behavior. The empirical study was carried out with a sample of 367 employees of 44 enterprises. The research results show the following findings: (1) Status competition has a differentiated impact on implicit coordination. Prestige-type status competition has a significant positive impact on implicit coordination behavior, while dominant-type status competition has a significant negative impact on implicit coordination behavior. (2) Knowledge sharing plays a mediating role between status competition (prestige-type status competition and dominant-type status competition) and implicit coordination. (3) Psychological safety positively moderates the relationship between prestige-type status competition, dominant-type status competition, and knowledge sharing. The research results provide a new perspective for the field of implicit coordination; reveal the mechanism of status competition motivation in implicit coordination, which is of great significance to the practice of enterprise team management and human resource management.

Rethinking intoxicated sexual encounters

Social research on alcohol and sexual encounters has tended to be siloed into several different research endeavors, each addressing separate aspects of wanted and unwanted sexual encounters. While sociologists have focused on the patterns of social interaction, status competition, and emotional hierarchies of sexual encounters, they have left the role of alcohol intoxication largely unexamined. Conversely, the two dominant approaches to sexual encounters within alcohol research, the theories of alcohol myopia and alcohol expectancy, while focusing on alcohol have tended to take little account of the socio-relational dynamics and gendered meanings involved in those encounters. Our aim in this theoretical paper is to begin to bring together some of the concepts from these different research strands in examining how the social processes of intoxication potentially impact heteronormative sexual scripts and hence notions of femininity and masculinity among cisgender, heterosexual women and men. Our discussion is focused on the concepts of ritual and scripts; power, status, and hierarchies; and socio-spatial contexts, which are central to an understanding of the gendered and embodied social practices that take place within intoxicated sexual events; the emotional nature of the socio-spatial contexts within which they occur; and the socio-structural conditions that frame these events.

Influencing and being influenced: effects of individual influence and susceptibility on new product adoption

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effect of opinion leadership on individuals’ susceptibility to social influence, which eventually affects their adoption behavior and assess how these relationships vary with gender in new product adoption.Design/methodology/approachData were collected based on a survey of young consumers regarding the adoption of new consumer electronics. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and multiple sample analyses.FindingsThe study finds that opinion leaders are more sensitive to influence from others when the mechanism of status competition is at work. Although consumers who are more susceptible to normative influence tend to adopt new products later than others, those who are more susceptible to status competition are more likely to adopt earlier. The results also provide evidence for gender differences. Female leaders are more susceptible to status competition, whereas male leaders are less sensitive to informational influence. The effects of susceptibility to normative influence and status competition on adoption behavior are stronger for female than for male consumers.Originality/valueThe overall structural model predicts an interesting relationship between individual influence and susceptibility, as well as the effects of these factors on adoption behavior. This study also provides deeper insights into the dynamics of the social influence mechanisms at work for each gender in new product adoption.

Body size correlations with female aggression and physiology suggest pre-adult effects on caste in an independent-founding eusocial paper wasp (Mischocyttarus pallidipectus, Hymenoptera Vespidae)

Reproductive castes are a defining characteristic of eusocial insects. The developmental timing of reproductive caste differentiation is important to shaping individual opportunities for reproductive flexibility. Because hard-part body size (e.g., wing length) is fixed for insects upon adult emergence, morphology can be used to assess pre-adult effects on caste status. Differences in body size amongst adult colony mates may affect social competition for resources and reproductive status in caste-monomorphic species. Our goal was to use body size correlations with female behavior and physiology to test among three hypotheses for pre-emergent effects on female caste within colonies of Mischocyttarus pallidipectus paper wasps: (1) no size overlap between females with developed and undeveloped ovaries would indicate caste is likely determined during larval development; (2) size bias for reproductives with exceptions: caste could be biased during development, but post-emergence factors may play a role; (3) no size patterns: no morphological evidence for pre-adult caste biases. Within colonies, we found a significant difference in body size (wing length) between females with developed vs undeveloped ovaries: larger females were more likely to have developed ovaries. Additionally, larger females were more aggressive towards nestmates. However, there was considerable variation in body size effects on both ovary development and behavioral dominance: even some of the smallest-bodied females had developed ovaries and were socially aggressive. These data suggest factors during pre-adult development lead to morphological (size) differences, and that body size affects the outcome of adult interactions with implications for reproductive caste.