Cited by 2,113Primate Behavior and EcologyStress Responses and CortisolEvolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

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The Influence of Social Hierarchy on Primate Health

Sapolsky, Robert M.·2005·Science

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Abstract

Dominance hierarchies occur in numerous social species, and rank within them can greatly influence the quality of life of an animal. In this review, I consider how rank can also influence physiology and health. I first consider whether it is high- or low-ranking animals that are most stressed in a dominance hierarchy; this turns out to vary as a function of the social organization in different species and populations. I then review how the stressful characteristics of social rank have adverse adrenocortical, cardiovascular, reproductive, immunological, and neurobiological consequences. Finally, I consider how these findings apply to the human realm of health, disease, and socioeconomic status.

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“Throughout history, societies have developed social hierarchies to create order, predictability, and systemize the allocation of resources based on categories such as race, gender, social class, and national origin (Halevy et al., 2011; Henrich & McElreath, 2003; Sapolsky, 2005).”
Background
The Neural Circuit Architecture of Social Hierarchy in Rodents and Primates
Ferreira‐Fernandes, E., & Peça, J. (2022) · Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncel.2022.874310 · Cited by 22
“Socioeconomic status is, therefore, the single strongest predictor of life expectancy and disease risk in humans (Sapolsky, 2004, 2005).”
Background
Minimally invasive biomarkers in human and non‐human primate evolutionary biology: Tools for understanding variation and adaptation
Urlacher, S. S., Kim, E. Y., Luan, T., Young, L. J., & Adjetey, B. (2022) · American Journal of Human Biology · doi:10.1002/ajhb.23811 · Cited by 23
“Comparatively, in NHPs, social dominance is more broadly defined as a relative measure of “coexistence” among members of a social group, where coexistence is determined by resource acquisition, reproduction, and health (Dewsbury, 1982; Drews, 1993; Majolo et al., 2012; Sapolsky, 2005).”
BackgroundInfluential
The effects of the type of cereal on the chemical and textural properties and on the consumer acceptance of pre-cooked, legume-based burgers
Summo, C., Centomani, I., Paradiso, V. M., Caponio, F., & Pasqualone, A. (2015) · LWT · doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2015.08.009 · Cited by 24
Honest signalling, dominance hierarchies and body condition in House Sparrows Passer domesticus (Aves: Passeriformes) during acute coccidiosis
DOLNIK, O. V., & Hoi, H. (2010) · Biological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01370.x · Cited by 23
Inequity Responses in Nonhuman Animals
Talbot, C. F., Price, S. A., & Brosnan, S. F. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3216-0_21 · Cited by 24
Trait aggressiveness does not predict social dominance of rats in the Visible Burrow System
Buwalda, B., Koolhaas, J. M., & de Boer, S. F. (2017) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.01.008 · Cited by 24
“Negative consequences for health and well-being are particularly strong for individuals of low rank in a society with a steep or unstable hierarchy including many overt agonistic interactions [39].”
A novel task to assess mood congruent memory bias in non-human animals
Burman, O. H. P., & Mendl, M. (2018) · Journal of Neuroscience Methods · doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.07.003 · Cited by 25
“Subordinate animals in social groupings are often exposed to long-term social stress, and are therefore likely to experience chronic negative affective states such as depression (Sapolsky 2005; Arregi et al. 2006).”
Effects of dominance and prestige based social status on competition for attentional resources
Roberts, A., Palermo, R., & Visser, T. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39223-0 · Cited by 20
Early life social and ecological determinants of global DNA methylation in wild spotted hyenas
Laubach, Z. M., Faulk, C. D., Dolinoy, D. C., Montrose, L. B., Jones, T. R., Ray, D., Pioon, M. O., & Holekamp, K. E. (2019) · Molecular Ecology · doi:10.1111/mec.15174 · Cited by 24
“…to 3 month Prey Periconception Prey High (anthro. distubance) Medium (anthro. distubance) Q4 (maternal rank) Q3 (maternal rank) Q2 (maternal rank) 2 0 2 4 6 Coefficient estimate Difference in %CCGG methylation other gregarious species predict positive health outcomes (Sapolsky, 2005).”
Drivers of desire for social rank
Mitchell, R. L., Bae, K. K., Case, C. R., & Hays, N. A. (2019) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.027 · Cited by 24
The behavioral paradigm to induce repeated social defeats in zebrafish
Nakajo, H., Tsuboi, T., & Okamoto, H. (2019) · Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1016/j.neures.2019.11.004 · Cited by 24
“Introduction Social subordination can alter animal behaviors, homeostais, gene expression, and mental and physical health (Habig and rchie, 2015; Maruska, 2014; Oliveira et al., 2016; Sapolsky, 2005; hively and Day, 2015).”
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The Effect of Winning an Oscar Award on Survival: Correcting for Healthy Performer Survivor Bias With a Rank Preserving Structural Accelerated Failure Time Model
Han, X., Small, D. S., Foster, D. P., & Patel, V. (2011) · ScholarlyCommons (University of Pennsylvania) · Cited by 24
Chronic social subordination stress modulates glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67 mRNA expression in central stress circuits
Makinson, R. A., Lundgren, K. H., Seroogy, K. B., & Herman, J. P. (2015) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.04.025 · Cited by 22
“Epidemiological studies consistently associate exposure to stressors to the development of depression and metabolic disorders (Kessler et al., 2005, Sapolsky, 2005, Corresponding author: Ryan Makinson, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, 2170 E Galbraith…”
Background
Stress‐induced Alternative Splicing Modulations in Brain and Periphery
Shaked, I., Zimmerman, G., & Soreq, H. (2008) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1196/annals.1410.001 · Cited by 24
“Acknowledgments This work was supported by the European Community’s Grants LSHG-CT2006-037277, LSHM-CT-2006-037378, The German Israel Project (DIP-G 3.2), and the Israel Ministry of Science (3-2589).”
BackgroundInfluential
Are cortisol profiles a stable trait during child development?
Flinn, M. V. (2009) · American Journal of Human Biology · doi:10.1002/ajhb.20981 · Cited by 24
“This puzzle is accentuated by the apparent negative consequences of social stress and concomitant abnormal cortisol levels for health and psychological development (Sapolsky, 2005).”
Background
The winner effect: how power affects your brain
Hogan, M. (2013) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2013.812232 · Cited by 24
Molecular and Circuit Architecture of Social HierarchyPreprint
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“Social status exerts a far-reaching influence on the brain, from neural activity (Zink et al., 2008) to mental health (Sapolsky, 2005).”
Background
Relationship quality affects social stress buffering in dogs and wolves
Cimarelli, G., Marshall-Pescini, S., Range, F., Berghänel, A., & Virányi, Z. (2021) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.008 · Cited by 22
“However, whether dominant or subordinate animals in a group have higher cortisol levels (Sands & Creel, 2004; Sapolsky, 2005) depends on the type of stressor, the species and what type of stress-coping strategies the individuals adopt.”
Background
Neurogenetics and Epigenetics of Loneliness
Bowirrat, A., Elman, I., Dennen, C. A., Gondré-Lewis, M. C., Cadet, J. L., Khalsa, J., Baron, D., Soni, D., Gold, M. S., McLaughlin, T., et al. (2023) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s423802 · Cited by 23
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Blum, K. (2012) · Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy · doi:10.4172/2157-7412.1000112 · Cited by 23
“High binding associates with higher social status [36-38] indicating the existence of biological systems and can be automatically and efficiently inferred [38], indicating the existence of biological systems that process social rank or social hierarchies information.”
Background
A longitudinal study of dominance and aggression in greylag geese (Anser anser)
Weiß, B., Kotrschal, K. M., & Foerster, K. (2011) · Behavioral Ecology · doi:10.1093/beheco/arr020 · Cited by 23
“…of aggression and achieving or maintaining a high dominance rank may also be energetically costly, may increase risk of injury, or may be stressful for an individual involved in numerous agonistic interactions (hereafter social stress, e.g., Hogstad 1987; Kotrschal et al. 1998; Sapolsky 2005).”
Background
Masculinity, femininity, and leadership: Taking a closer look at the alpha female
Sumra, M. K. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215181 · Cited by 27
Space and rank: infants expect agents in higher position to be socially dominant
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Serotonin Signals Overcome Loser Mentality in Drosophila
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“Fighting is crucial for defense against predators and competition for territory, food, or mates (Anholt and Mackay, 2012; Miczek et al., 2001; Packer et al., 1995; Sapolsky, 2005; Zwarts et al., 2012).”
Background
Socioeconomic status effects on health vary between rural and urban Turkana
Lea, A. J., Waigwa, C., Muhoya, B., Lotukoi, F., Peng, J., Henry, L. P., Abhyankar, V., Kamau, J., Martins, D. J., Gurven, M., et al. (2021) · Evolution Medicine and Public Health · doi:10.1093/emph/eoab039 · Cited by 21
“In other words, while social gradients in health have deep roots in primate and human evolution [1, 7], the nature and magnitude of SES-health gradients have potentially changed as a function of modern lifeways.”
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Clougherty, J. E., Humphrey, J. L., Kinnee, E., Remigio, R. V., & Sheffield, P. E. (2022) · Current Environmental Health Reports · doi:10.1007/s40572-022-00359-3 · Cited by 23
“sistence of a social gradient in health across societies, and even in non-human primates [22, 23], has prompted serious attention to the health impact of social status in and of itself, rather than the material resources it confers, giving rise to psychosocial (vs.”
Background
Psychosocial and energetic factors on human female pubertal timing: a systematized review
Glass, D. J., Geerkens, J. T., & Martin, M. A. (2022) · Evolutionary Human Sciences · doi:10.1017/ehs.2022.24 · Cited by 25
“However among humans who do not exist in strict dominance hierarchies but rather in a web of hierarchies, SES has been robustly associated with psychosocial stress profiles and disease outcomes (R. Sapolsky, 2005; R. M. Sapolsky, 2005).”
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“Indeed, a dedicated hierarchical system is postulated to monitor for cues of social status and to guide social functioning within the social hierarchy (Johnson & Carver, 2012; Sapolsky, 2005).”
Background
Moderate physical exercise attenuates the alterations of feeding behaviour induced by social stress in female rats
Benite‐Ribeiro, S. A., dos Santos, J. M., & Duarte, J. A. (2013) · Cell Biochemistry and Function · doi:10.1002/cbf.2984 · Cited by 23
Individual differences in the effects of environmental stimuli on cocaine choice in socially housed male cynomolgus monkeys
Czoty, P. W., & Nader, M. A. (2011) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-011-2562-3 · Cited by 24
“However, these measures do not robustly correlate with the magnitude of stressor in socially housed monkeys (e.g., Sapolsky 2005).”
Background
Rise to Power: A Case Study of Male Fecal Androgen and Cortisol Levels before and after a Non-Aggressive Rank Change in a Group of Wild White-Faced Capuchins (Cebus capucinus)
Schoof, V. A. M., Jack, K. M., & Carnegie, S. D. (2012) · Folia Primatologica · doi:10.1159/000337220 · Cited by 23
“This suggests that GC patterns reflect dominance rank, and that behaviors associated with rank drive the association with GC, rather than GC driving the behavior [Sapolsky, 2005, p. 398].”
Background
Encoding of social state information by neuronal activities in the macaque caudate nucleus
dos Santos, G. S., Nagasaka, Y., Fujii, N., & Nakahara, H. (2011) · Social Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/17470919.2011.578465 · Cited by 25
“Dominant–submissive relations are an important and pervasive type of social relationship in primate species (Cheney & Seyfarth, 2007; Sapolsky, 2005).”
Background
The Roles of Dopamine D1 Receptor on the Social Hierarchy of Rodents and Non-human Primates
Yamaguchi, Y., Lee, Y., Kato, A., & Goto, Y. (2016) · The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyw106 · Cited by 25
“In a hierarchical social group, social class determines the behavioral fitness, such as health and reproduction, of subjects in the group (Sapolsky, 2005; Majolo et al., 2012).”
Background

Authors: Sapolsky, R. M.
Affiliations: Institute of Primate Research (KE)
Corresponding author: Sapolsky, Robert M.
ORCID: Sapolsky, Robert M.
Venue: Science
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Published: 2005-04-29
Volume: 308
Issue: 5722
Pages: 648-652
ISSN: 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
1095-9203
DOI: 10.1126/science.1106477
OpenAlex: W2165558339
Cited by: 2,113
References: 50
Citations by year: 2026: 82 · 2025: 102 · 2024: 78 · 2023: 145 · 2022: 140 · 2021: 102 · 2020: 98 · 2019: 172 · 2018: 120 · 2017: 106 · 2016: 146 · 2015: 111 · 2014: 112 · 2013: 127 · 2012: 102
FWCI: 6.52
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Keywords: dominance hierarchy, social rank, primate health, stress, adrenocortical stress response, cardiovascular effects, reproductive effects, immunological effects, neurobiology, socioeconomic status, human health, social organization
MeSH terms: Animals, Anxiety, Behavior, Animal, Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena, Catecholamines, Dominance-Subordination, Health Status, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Immune System, Nervous System Physiological Phenomena, Primates, Reproduction, Social Behavior, Social Class, Social Dominance, Stress, Physiological

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The Influence of Social Hierarchy on Primate Health

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