Status and Hierarchy: Field Evidence from Vervet Monkeys

Experimental evidence with humans and with other primates suggests a preference for interacting with higher-status individuals. For two years we studied wild vervet monkeys. In our treatment phase, some individuals are granted an advantaged role in cooperation to obtain food. Relative to an earlier, control phase, advantaged individuals receive more socially positive behaviors, while “alpha” (highest rank) individuals receive fewer. The increase is focused on lower-ranking advantaged individuals. Alpha individuals become more aggressive, but less influential. Overall, our results support a "signaling" rather than a "preference" hypothesis for how status affects behavior.