The Dominance Hierarchy; how to measure success to defeat feelings of inadequacy Part 1: The Introduction to The Hierarchy

Good day fellow 7Cups users.

Many people suffer from feelings of inadequacy when battling disorders such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and for numerous other reasons. This can cause heightened anxiety (especially regarding performance), lack of trust, and harsh/ unhealthy self-criticism. In fact, this problem is so significant that in severe cases it can manifest into a disorder of its known which known as Avoidant Personality Disorder (AVPD). Today I will delve into what exactly is happening when we feel inadequate and why/how these feelings arise.

When we think about how our society is structured; it is largely based on a hierarchy, and if that seems barbaric to you; it’s probably because it is! Our arboreal, four-legged primate friends also share this system. Monkeys are found in troops, consisting of varying amounts; however, it is not the feeble, plod-along infrastructure one might initially suspect. In fact, each monkey is assigned a hierarchical position within the troop. This sophisticated system is well understood by the members, which is something we humans cannot relate to. Let’s make a scenario, your child is in a crisis and s/he needs immediate surgery; you’re going to want the best surgeon possible to save her/his life, but what differentiates a surgeon from a bin collector (s/he would be much cheaper after all), when in essence; you may know very little about surgery and what qualifies someone to conduct surgery. It comes down to the simple equation of accepting that you must trust that the qualification this surgeon has earned makes him/her more competent than the bin collector by elevating his/her hierarchical position; your entire decision has been made based on a trust in the hierarchy you consciously did not know existed. We can monitor behaviors such as the distribution of resources throughout the troop; low-ranking monkeys will often have food stolen from them, not guarded (or even kicked out for being a liability) when injured, bitten, and chased away from resource-rich areas until more royal members are satisfied. Playing along with a very common and harsh saying among us humans: the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. The alpha male is constantly on the lookout for trouble and the overall muscles in the group. Somewhat comically, it is not the male who is truly respected as the head (despite his showboating), but rather the alpha female who is ultimately followed. The offspring also inherit the position of their parents. This anthropoidal behavior can even be found in the youth. When the newborns are rescued and left without a mother, we can see troops forming and hierarchical positions being lost and earned (without being predisposed by their ancestors) right in front of our very eyes, a truly fascinating process! We can see the popular monkeys take shape, from them being best at what is most attractive at that age. Unfortunately for our cool little monkeys, these values shift, and they often cannot shift with them. At this point in their life, they had always been on top. Therefore, when this new criterion emerges it simply does not suit their skillset; they collapse and fall to the bottom of the hierarchy as they simply fail to adjust because they never had to in their youth (which is the time to learn skills like perseverance and flexibility).

It seems impossible to deny the similarities which beg many questions, what are the consequences of this hierarchy? Why do we share this behavior with supposed unsophisticated beings? Both of which will be answered in part 2.