Prestige and Culture: A Biosocial Interpretation [and Comments and Replies]

Abstract

Examination of human prestige-striving in phylogenetic perspective suggests it to be essentially homologous with primate social dominance. In our own species, however, selection for "cultural capacity" has transformed striving for social dominance into striving to evaluate the self as being higher in rank than others or, in other words, into striving for self-esteem. We maintain self-esteem through symbolic means, usually referred to as seeking "prestige." We also utilize various distortions of perception and cognition to this end, including rationalization, identification, and change of reference group. Prestige strategies may emphasize attaining prestige through being part of a prestigious group or may be more individualistically oriented. They may also stress receipt of the approbation of internal representations of absent or imaginary others or emphasize the respect of those physically present. Traditional societies provide culturally patterned strategies which tend to perpetuate these societies. Thus, success in the hunt brings prestige among hunting peoples, large herds among pastoralists, etc. Culturally constituted rationalizations help to maintain the self-esteem of those who fail. Culture contact is one of the chief causes of the failure of prestige-allocation systems, the very existence of wealthy and powerful newcomers devaluing the coin of the prestige obtainable through traditional strategies. Newly development prestige strategies are likely to have deleterious…