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Introduction

Social behaviour is a characteristic of animals with highly developed nervous


systems, in particular the vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish) and
the invertebrate social insects (ants and termites). In all these species, there are behaviours
that are exclusively instinctive (endogenous); however, in mammals and birds, the process
of learning from environmental experiences (exogenous behaviours) becomes pronounced.
In mammalian and bird species, complex social interactions have evolved in which
individuals aggregate and work together for the benefit of the group as a whole.

Such highly social species form aggregations composed of both males and females.
These aggregations usually are either migratory, as the individuals of the aggregate search
for food, or territorial, in areas of abundant food supply. Aggregation can be defined as a
grouping of members of a species for mutual protection and acquisition of resources. Social
aggregation is thus designed to find food for the sustenance of the group, to reproduce, and
to protect the group members from predators. Single individuals or very small groups
generally have more difficulty in finding food and in defending themselves than do large
groups. This easily can be seen in birds or cattle, which flock or herd, respectively, at the
approach of a predator.

Dominance Hierarchies

Within such aggregates or societies, male and female associations develop; both
associations are based on dominance hierarchies. Association can be defined as an accepted
social organization into which individuals affiliate based on common interests for the
attainment of the society’s cultural goals.

A dominance hierarchy, or pecking order, is a precisely ranked ordering of individuals


from most dominant to most subordinate. Dominance hierarchies are important features of
practically all mammalian and avian (bird) societies. They are dynamic social structures that
are constantly changing because of continual interactions, encounters, and conflicts
between individuals and groups of individuals. Several less powerful males may cooperate
to usurp the power of the dominant male, for example. Young males or females usually start
at the bottom of a dominance hierarchy and gradually work their way up the scale of
dominance. Older individuals, as they weaken, generally fall down the dominance scale
because of intergroup competition. The overall format of the dominance hierarchy
guarantees the best territory, the most mates, the most abundant and best food supply, and
the best protection from predators for the most dominant individuals. The most
subordinate individuals usually have the worst territory, few if any mates, poor nutrition,
and great susceptibility to predation.

Such dominance hierarchies permeate human societies, although their presence is


often subtle within the context of extremely complex social and cultural systems. Human
societies, whether primarily technological, agricultural, or hunting, consist of institutions,
organizations, religions, clubs, and other groups with which individuals are affiliated. To
some extent, many of these groups serve the same purposes as groups in other animal
societies: food assimilation, reproduction, and protection from predators, enemies, or other
“undesirable” people. Human societies, however, employ unique rationales for individual
affiliation. Affiliation is defined as the joining of an individual to a group of individuals, many
of whom may be unrelated, based on such things as cooperation, mutual interests,
friendship, age, gender, and protection.

The affiliation motive behind an individual’s joining a particular group lies within all
these factors. Nevertheless, lurking beneath these factors are some very basic socio-
biological principles. It is to the individual’s advantage to affiliate with other individuals.
Through interactions with others, one can assert one’s position within the existing
dominance hierarchy, thereby gaining recognition for oneself not only in terms of
dominance relationships but also in terms of meeting the society’s views of acceptable
behaviour. Outcasts and other individuals who fail to affiliate within the accepted social
institutions are frowned on by their peers and are subject to prejudicial treatment and
perhaps social exclusion. Antisocial behaviour is strongly discouraged and is punished in
many societies.

The dominance hierarchy is, without question, a major evolutionary adaptation for
the survival of social animal species. In every association of individuals, the dominance
hierarchy is expressed in the power structure of the group, as well as in peer pressure aimed
at forcing all societal members to conform. Conformity means affiliation with acceptable
societal groups and submission to the dominance hierarchy.

Social Motives

An individual’s drive, or motivation, to affiliate with other individuals may be


attributable to common interests or characteristics, but often this drive is tempered by
social pressures to conform to the stability of the existing dominance structure. In many
instances, the motivation to affiliate is influenced by societal incentives—a motivating force
or system of rewards that is presented to people if they behave or successfully perform
specified tasks according to the norms of society. Affiliation with some groups may bring
prestige, a better standard of living, and other benefits. Such affiliations usually are easier
when kinship with group members exists. (Kinship is the primary social organizing force in
many human and animal societies, based on the relatedness of individuals.) Otherwise, the
individual may have to make certain sacrifices.

Human social groups include organizations such as elitist country clubs, social clubs,
sport-related clubs, special-interest groups (gem clubs, astronomy clubs), professionally
related organizations, women’s clubs, men’s clubs, teen groups, elderly groups, churches,
volunteer rescue squads and fire departments, and sports teams. Even youth gangs,
mobsters, and hate groups fall within such categories. Affiliation is a social behaviour in
which practically everyone participates in some way, either willingly or unwillingly.

One phenomenon of affiliation behaviour that is prevalent in numerous groups is


altruism, an unselfish contribution on the part of an individual for others even if they are not
genetically related to the individual. Altruism occurs in numerous species, although it usually
occurs between related individuals. Humans exhibit an unusual level of altruism even
toward unrelated individuals. There is some philosophical debate over whether such
behaviour in humans is truly unselfish. A number of investigators seek other underlying
motives in such behaviour and dismiss the notion that people help others purely out of a
sense of caring. For example, up until extremely recently on the evolutionary calendar,
humans lived in clans and were related to every other human with whom they came in
contact.

Affiliation motives, therefore, are based on mutual interest and characteristics


between people, altruistic behavior, and peer pressure associated with existing social
dominance hierarchies. Affiliation is an important component of the stable structuring of
society. It is of major concern in specific cases when individuals are barred from groups
because of intelligence, family background, political affiliation, religious beliefs, race, or
personal wealth.

Study of Affiliation

Affiliation is a major subject of study for psychologists, sociologists, and socio-


cultural anthropologists. A critical behaviour in the formation of the complex societies that
characterize mammalian and bird species, it is very pronounced in human societies.
Psychologists and anthropologists study group associations in many different human
societies, comparing the characteristics of these different groups to ascertain the
importance of affiliation and other group interactions in the development of the individual,
the development of culture, and the evolution of human civilization. Studies are also made
of group behaviours in primates and other closely related species to arrive at the sequence
of evolutionary events leading to group adaptations.
Affiliation motives and drives reveal the psychological background of various
individuals and, as a result, enable the researcher to understand differences between
people in achievement of goals. Such knowledge can be of great value in uncovering the
psychological and physical blocks that prevent some people from reaching their maximum
intellectual and physical potential. Dominance hierarchies, while representing a central,
structured component of practically all societies, are stumbling blocks to many people.
Understanding how they operate can be of great use in assisting the smooth, nonviolent
interaction of differing peoples. It also can be used to unravel the roots of antisocial
behaviour.

Cultural Differences and Similarities

Social and cultural anthropologists have studied the structure and organization of
hundreds of different societies throughout the world. These societies exhibit many of the
same social processes and patterns of organized behaviour. They all exhibit dominance
hierarchies, acceptable rules of individual and group behaviour, and strong orderliness
based on kinship. Some such societies (Hindu, for example) relegate their members to
separate castes, permanent divisions based on genetic inheritance and particular trades. In
advanced technological societies, large populations, fast-paced lifestyles, and high regional
mobility result in social structures based less on kinship and more on other factors, such as
mutual interests, age, gender, and race.

The study of social groups and affiliation motives for such groups provides an
informative analysis of human social evolution within the context of rapidly changing
societies. The psychological impact of such changes on the individual and on the group as a
whole can provide an understanding of societal problems such as crime, social inequality,
and intergroup tensions. Underlying all these situations is the natural biological tendency for
individuals to aggregate for the common good of all members, thereby reducing the chance
of danger to individual members. Humans, like all animals, have a need to interact and
associate with other members of their own species. The drive to affiliate is related to the
need for acceptance and the subsequent goals of recognition, power, protection, and
mating.
Motivational Theories
Societal pressures to conform and to affiliate are great. Numerous
psychologists have propounded theories describing the psychological
bases behind an individual’s motives to affiliate with other individuals.
These theories are in agreement as to the goals of affiliation—
objectives such as friendship, mutual interests, mating, acquiring food,
and ensuring protection. These theories differ, however, in the
psychological mechanisms behind the affiliation motive.

Among the most famous of these motivational theories is one that


comes from the work of the psychoanalytical pioneer Sigmund Freud.
Freud proposed that all motivational drives within an individual centre
on two principal components of the individual psyche: the libido and
the Eros instinct. The libido is an aspect of one’s psychological
makeup whose prime focus is sexual reproduction, whereas the Eros
instinct is one’s inner need to survive. The libido could actually be
seen as a component of Eros, which would then be the need to
survive and to reproduce. Influenced by Darwinian evolutionary
theory, Freud for much of his career maintained that all motives,
including the affiliation motive, are aimed at satisfying one’s sexual
and survival needs. In his later work, however, he discovered a new
instinct, Thanatos, or the death drive, which he described as self-
directed aggression resulting from an inability to channel aggression
outward at others and a consequent need to redirect it against the
self.

The analytical psychologists Kurt Goldstein and Abraham Maslow


maintained that an individual’s psyche organizes itself about a tiered
arrangement of personal needs and goals. These tiers include basic
bodily needs such as food and protection, the need to be loved, and “
self-actualization.” According to their theories, different individuals
focus on different aspects of these psychological needs. They further
maintained that one’s psychological needs all emerge from the need
for self-actualization, the need to be recognized as an important
member of society. Psychological disorders were believed to occur as
a result of conflicts within these inner needs.

Other theories of social involvement and motivation include those of


Carl Jung and Alfred Adler. Jung concentrates on individuals as being
introverts or extroverts. Adler concentrates on inferior people
overcompensating to become superior, with inferiority complexes
arising when inferior individuals choose socially unacceptable means
of becoming superior. All these theories and others employ many of
the same basic concepts. They generally center on basic instinctive
desires (sexuality, food acquisition, protection from danger) and the
need for recognition (dominance, personal achievement).
Consequently, they reflect the biological basis of behavior that has
evolved in animals over the past few hundred million years.
Role of Sociobiology
The psychological theories of motivation and the cultural
manifestations of association and affiliation fall within the domain of
sociobiology, a branch of biological thought advanced by numerous
behaviorists and analytical psychologists that has been considerably
refined and compellingly presented by Harvard University
entomologist Edward O. Wilson. The motive of individual affiliation in
any animal society, including human society, is the achievement of
personal and group needs, which essentially boil down to views of
survival and reproduction similar to those expressed by Freud.
Psychology and animal behavior have isolated the basis of affiliation
and of behavior as one’s instinctive needs as a living organism. This
rationale stems from the fact that humans are animals and are the
products of billions of years of evolutionary change on Earth. The
nature of all life is to survive and to reproduce. Therefore, the
activities of all organisms are centered on the achievement of these
goals. In sociobiological theory, animal behavior and animal societies
are driving forces in the survival, reproduction, and evolution of any
given animal species. This theory has produced much controversy
and debate; however, there is considerable evidence supporting it.

Affiliation is one of the foci of social behavior. Animals have a need to


associate with other individuals of their own species. In so doing, they
ensure their own safety and enhance their own reproductive potential.
An individual’s behavior is directed toward these ends. Another
sociobiological viewpoint is that of the “selfish gene,” a concept
developed by modern molecular biologists and advanced by Richard
Dawkins in his 1976 book of that name. The selfish gene concept
maintains that evolution occurs at the level of the gene and that
individual organisms are the means by which genetic information is
copied and transmitted to future generations. All aspects of the
organism and populations of organisms are geared to this end.
Biochemical changes within an individual’s nervous and endocrine
systems facilitate such motivations. The physiology of motivation is an
object of intense study.
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