London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Abstract: For humans, it seems that there are two routes for becoming high in status: through processes of respect and admiration (prestige) or through the induction of fear and coercion (dominance). Whilst a growing body of cross-cultural evidence lends support for this dual model of social hierarchy, the extant research has neglected—both theoretically and methodologically—the impact of a process that governs all aspects of life: time. Here, Daniel will integrate time into the dual model of social hierarchy and present a longitudinal framework of the relationships between prestige, dominance, interpersonal relationships and social status. Daniel will further substantiate this framework with empirical evidence from several on-going projects assessing both W.E.I.R.D contexts and small-scale societies.

Specifically, Daniel will present findings that:

1) Whilst dominance and prestige may increase social status in previously unacquainted groups, they have divergent longitudinal trajectories

2) Prestige and dominance are distinct processes, with prestige having a dynamic, bi-directional relationship with social status over time

3) Prestige and dominance differentially impact the social relationships that may generate social capital, with particular focus on the dynamics of prestige and longitudinal social support networks.

Biography: Daniel Redhead is currently a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex. Before starting at Essex, Daniel completed his undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Anthropology, and master’s degree in Anthropology at Durham University. Broadly, he studies the dynamics between psychological processes, social relationships and social status through fieldwork, pseudo-experimental and experimental design.