724. The Hierarchy Instinct: Research On Competitiveness
I have been speculating before, that instinctivity is a significant trait distinguishing individuals. By Instinctivity I am referring to animal instincts, which also influence human behavior. The hierarchy instinct is one aspect thereof. Competitiveness is a trait, competition an behavior, both are the noticeable expressions of the invisible hierarchy instinct.
There are some research results showing and explaining by evolutionary mechanisms the variability of the level of competitiveness:
I have been speculating before, that instinctivity is a significant trait distinguishing individuals. By Instinctivity I am referring to animal instincts, which also influence human behavior. The hierarchy instinct is one aspect thereof. Competitiveness is a trait, competition an behavior, both are the noticeable expressions of the invisible hierarchy instinct.
There are some research results showing and explaining by evolutionary mechanisms the variability of the level of competitiveness:
"Virtually all organisms in the living world compete with members of their own species. However, individuals differ strongly in how much they invest into their competitive ability. Some individuals are highly competitive and eager to get access to high-quality resources, while others seem to avoid competition, instead making prudent use of the lower-quality resources that are left over for them. Moreover, the degree of competitiveness in animal and human societies seems to fluctuate considerably over time. A new study sheds some new light on these findings."
"If not too much is at stake, that is, if high-competitive individuals acquire only slightly better resources than low-competitive individuals, evolution leads to the stable coexistence of two types of individuals: one type does not invest into competition at all and is content with lower-quality resources, and a second type that invest an appreciable (but not maximal) part of their energy into being competitive. If much is at stake, such coexistence does not occur. Instead, the model predicts cyclical changes in competitive ability over time. "
"However, also in humans there is huge diversity in competitiveness, and individuals with highest competitive ability often seem least prudent in the exploitation of their resources. It is therefore tempting to speculate that the external stimulation of competitiveness by societal pressure, which is analogous to the stimulation of competitiveness by the female preferences in our model, can lead to such a wastage of resources that our future survival is threatened."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141029084021.htm
