An Ethological Study of Dominance Formation and Maintenance in a Group of Human Adolescents

SAVIN-WILLIAMS, RICHARD C. An Ethological Study of Dominance Formation and Maintenance in a Group of Human Adolescents. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 972-979. A stable, ordered dominance hierarchy was found via observational and sociometric methods for a group of 13-year-old boys during a 5-week camp. This group structure was formed early in camp and was stable across settings, time, and types of dominance interactions. The hierarchy correlated significantly with the rank ordering of bed position and highly, but not significantly, with hiking position, athletic ability, physical fitness, chronological age, and late popularity. Group characteristics and individual differences, especially in regard to Alpha and Omega, are noted. The dominance hierarchy appears to serve in the reduction of agonistic behaviors and, on an individual level, to provide knowledge of where one's place is among one's peers.