4 ms·

No, it's simpler: It's just 'status'. I believe the men you describe are "alpha males" which is a form of status -- albeit it's generally considered a low-class

No, it's simpler: It's just 'status'. I believe the men you describe are "alpha males" which is a form of status -- albeit it's generally considered a low-class form of status by modern educated professionals. Wealth, I believe, is only interesting in this equation to the extend it confers status, or at least coincides with it. Beta-males/low-status guys who win the lottery typically gets taken advantage of, rather than swooned over.

coldtea 11y ago
>No, it's simpler: It's just 'status'. I believe the men you describe are "alpha males" which is a form of status -- albeit it's generally considered a low-class form of status by modern educated professionals. Not always. It can be just the local barman or barista that women swoon for. Or just a guy in the office, with the same rank as 30 others. It can even be an unemployed bum. Heck, women went wild over some felon last year: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/hot-convict-jeremy-meeks-sentenced-years-prison-article-1.2105229 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/hot-convict-jeremy-mee... What it gets down to is: there is such a thing as male good looks, it's not all status and wealth. And Clooney and Pitt etc certainly have those too.
Spooky23 11y ago
I think status is a sub-category of "charisma".
empath75 11y ago
This is complete horse shit. There is no such thing as an 'alpha male'.
- coldtea 11y ago
  Well, there are top dogs and followers.
  - ska 11y ago
    I think there is truth in this, but it is overused in an intellectually lazy way to "explain" group dynamics. In other words, I think there are actually humans who are usefully described as "alpha", but they are rare enough that most people will never actually meet one in their lifetimes. If that is true, thinking about this dynamic as useful in understanding the people they actually do interact with easily becomes misleading. There are certainly many people who like to think of themselves as "alpha" but invariably in my experience they have been obviously, and demonstrably, wrong.
    - coldtea 11y ago
      >In other words, I think there are actually humans who are usefully described as "alpha", but they are rare enough that most people will never actually meet one in their lifetimes. Maybe not a full blown "alpha" (that would e.g. be their political leaders, CEOs, etc, so they will affect their lives, even if they don't get to meet one as a colleague/friend), but in most group scenarios there would be some people exerting much more influence than the others, even without a higher rank.
      - ska 11y ago
        but in most group scenarios there would be some people exerting much more influence than the others Sure, but that is what is meant by group dynamics. And it usually isn't one dimensional. What I'm saying is that the alpha/beta modeling of this is lazy and misleading, and better avoided. A very few politicians and a very few CEOs meet a useful definition of alpha, in my opinion. Your point about rank affecting influence is true, but I think irrelevant to my point.
  - dikdik 11y ago
    There are leaders and followers. There are also people who just do their own thing and others that fluctuate from leading to following based on circumstance. The "alpha"/"beta" wolf-pack dynamics were debunked a while ago. Packs are typically made up of parents (previously referred to as "alphas") and children (previously referred to as "betas"). Status is definitely important, but the alpha/beta/omega/gamma/delta/greek-anthropomorphism thing is a load of crap.

coldtea 11y ago

>No, it's simpler: It's just 'status'. I believe the men you describe are "alpha males" which is a form of status -- albeit it's generally considered a low-class form of status by modern educated professionals. Not always. It can be just the local barman or barista that women swoon for. Or just a guy in the office, with the same rank as 30 others. It can even be an unemployed bum. Heck, women went wild over some felon last year: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/hot-convict-jeremy-meeks-sentenced-years-prison-article-1.2105229 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/hot-convict-jeremy-mee... What it gets down to is: there is such a thing as male good looks, it's not all status and wealth. And Clooney and Pitt etc certainly have those too.

Spooky23 11y ago

I think status is a sub-category of "charisma".

empath75 11y ago

This is complete horse shit. There is no such thing as an 'alpha male'.

coldtea 11y ago
Well, there are top dogs and followers.
- ska 11y ago
  I think there is truth in this, but it is overused in an intellectually lazy way to "explain" group dynamics. In other words, I think there are actually humans who are usefully described as "alpha", but they are rare enough that most people will never actually meet one in their lifetimes. If that is true, thinking about this dynamic as useful in understanding the people they actually do interact with easily becomes misleading. There are certainly many people who like to think of themselves as "alpha" but invariably in my experience they have been obviously, and demonstrably, wrong.
  - coldtea 11y ago
    >In other words, I think there are actually humans who are usefully described as "alpha", but they are rare enough that most people will never actually meet one in their lifetimes. Maybe not a full blown "alpha" (that would e.g. be their political leaders, CEOs, etc, so they will affect their lives, even if they don't get to meet one as a colleague/friend), but in most group scenarios there would be some people exerting much more influence than the others, even without a higher rank.
    - ska 11y ago
      but in most group scenarios there would be some people exerting much more influence than the others Sure, but that is what is meant by group dynamics. And it usually isn't one dimensional. What I'm saying is that the alpha/beta modeling of this is lazy and misleading, and better avoided. A very few politicians and a very few CEOs meet a useful definition of alpha, in my opinion. Your point about rank affecting influence is true, but I think irrelevant to my point.
- dikdik 11y ago
  There are leaders and followers. There are also people who just do their own thing and others that fluctuate from leading to following based on circumstance. The "alpha"/"beta" wolf-pack dynamics were debunked a while ago. Packs are typically made up of parents (previously referred to as "alphas") and children (previously referred to as "betas"). Status is definitely important, but the alpha/beta/omega/gamma/delta/greek-anthropomorphism thing is a load of crap.