Can dominance lead to group consensus?

Individuals who attain a dominant status within a group have often done so through intimidation, coercion, and aggression—traits that are not, however, valued in a social context. It turns out that to reach a consensus, it is better to listen to subordinates.   Dominant individuals in social groups are often, by the same token, the most influential. Their convictions carry more weight. Yet the attributes associated with—and defining—dominance, which place them at the top of the hierarchy—such as aggression, intimidation, and coercion—are often also socially aversive. The traits that make individuals dominant and influential in one context can therefore also diminish their social influence and reduce their influence in other contexts. Researchers studied this phenomenon in a social cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. They compared the influence of dominant and subordinate males during normal social interactions and during a task requiring a more complex group consensus. Thus, phenotypically dominant males are aggressive and socially central. They exert a strong influence on the group’s normal movements, whereas subordinate males are passive, socially peripheral, and have little influence on normal movements. However, subordinate males exert greater influence when group consensus is required. At that point, dominant males keep their distance from the group, displaying fewer informative behaviors toward the group, in contrast to more subordinate male fish. These findings suggest that social dominance and social influence are highly context-dependent. The dominant male’s cues enable unilateral, non-consensus-based decisions, in contrast to those of subordinate males. Thus, a hierarchical hierarchy that favors the most aggressive, competitive, or coercive individuals may prove counterproductive in contexts where group performance is a priority. The behaviors that define effective social influence are therefore highly context-specific and must be distinguished from social dominance.