It is argued that leading is the outcome of an asymmetry between two or more individuals regulating their distance to one another and to other resources. The asymmetry which decides on leader and follower(s) is a momentary or permanent difference in the so-called critical distance to a particular partner. Beyond this distance, following the partner is more profitable in terms of reproductive fitness than staying back when he leaves or leaving when he stays. The individual with the greater critical distance to the partner can tolerate greater distances from him and thus will be the leader. The basic evolutionary model that is outlined allows us to understand various forms of leading and to specify some characteristics that enhance the probability of an individual to be the leader of a group, i.e. its “leadership”. For achieving a broader unifying framework that covers more than the most simple forms of leading, extensions of the basic model to several partners, objects or places, to manipulation of the partners' “landscape” of expected fitness payoffs, to time rather than space, and to prior negotiations on goals of joint action become necessary. Such extensions are outlined and discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adret-Hausberger, M. and Cummings, R.B. (1987) “Social Attraction to Older Birds by Domestic Chicks”, Bird Behaviour7: 44-46.
2.
Barth, F. (1965) Nomads of South Persia. London: Allen & Unwin.
3.
Beilharz, R. and Melrea, P.J. (1963) “Social Position and Movement Orders of Dairy Heifers”, Animal Behaviour11: 529-533.
4.
Bischof, N. (1975) “A Systems Approach toward the Functional Connections of Attachment and Fear”, Child Development46: 801-817.
5.
Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1, Attachment. London: Hogarth Press.
6.
Bowlby, J. (1973) Attachment and Loss, Vol. 2, Separation. London: Hogarth Press.
7.
Chance, M.R.A. (1967) “Attention Structures as the Basis of Primate Rank Orders”, Man, N.S.2: 503-518.
8.
Dunbar, R.I.M. (1983) “Structure of Gelada Baboon Reproductive Units. IV. Integration at the Group Level”, Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie63: 265-282.
9.
Gibbs, C.A. (1969) “Leadership”, in G. Lindzey and E. Aronson (eds) The Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol. 4, 2nd edn, pp. 205-282. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
10.
Gubler, H. and Bischof, N. (1990) “A Systems' Perspective on Infant Development”, in M.E. Lamb and H. Keller (eds) Infant Development: Perspectives from German-speaking Countries, pp. 1-37. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
Hammerstein, P. and Parker, G.A. (1982) “The Asymmetric War of Attrition”, Journal of Theoretical Biology96: 647-682.
12.
Hammerstein, P. and Parker, G.A. (1987) “Sexual Selection: Games between the Sexes”, in J.W. Bradbury and M.B. Andersson (eds) Sexual Selection: Testing the Alternatives, pp. 119-142. New York: John Wiley (Dahlem Konferenzen).
13.
Hinde, R.A. and Spencer-Booth, Y. (1968) “The Study of Mother-Infant Interaction in Captive Group-living Rhesus Monkeys”, Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B169: 177-201.
14.
Hold, B.C.L. (1976) “Attention Structure and Rank Specific Behaviour in Preschool Children”, in M.R.A. Chance and R.R. Larson (eds) The Social Structure of Attention, pp. 177-201. London: John Wiley.
15.
Kraemer, G.W. (1992) “A Psychobiological Theory of Attachment”, Behavioral and Brain Sciences15: 493-541.
16.
Kummer, H. (1967) “Dimensions of a Comparative Biology of Primate Groups”, American Journal of Physical Anthropology27: 357-366.
17.
Kummer, H. (1968) Social Organization of Hamadryas Baboons. Basel and New York: S. Karger.
18.
Kummer, H. (1988) “Gruppenführung bei Tier und Mensch in evolutionärer Sicht”, in H. Meier (ed.) Die Herausforderung der Evolutionsbiologie, pp. 173-191. Munich: Piper.
19.
Lamprecht, J. (1973) “Mechanismen des Paarzusammenhaltes beim Cichliden Tilapia mariae Boulenger 1899 (Cichlidae, Teleostei)”, Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie32: 10-61.
20.
Lamprecht, J. (1984) “Measuring the Strength of Social Bonds: Experiments with Hand-reared Goslings (Anser indicus)”, Behaviour91: 115-127.
21.
Lamprecht, J. (1989) “Distance Regulation of Hand-reared Goslings (Anser indicus) to an Unresponsive Parent: A Study of the Short-term Dynamics of Attachment”, Behaviour108: 209-240.
22.
Lamprecht, J. (1991) “Factors Influencing Leadership - A Study of Goose Families (Anser indicus)”, Ethology89: 265-274.
23.
Lamprecht, J. (1992) “Variable Leadership in Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) - An Analysis of Pair and Family Departures”, Behaviour122: 105-120.
24.
Luce, R.D. and Raiffa, H. (1957) Games and Decisions. An Introduction and Critical Survey. New York: John Wiley.
25.
Maynard Smith, J. (1974) “The Theory of Games and the Evolution of Animal Conflicts”, Journal of Theoretical Biology47: 209-221.
26.
Menzel, E.W. (1974) “A Group of Young Chimpanzees in a One-acre Field”, in A.M. Schrier and F. Stollnitz (eds) Behavior of Nonhuman Primates, Vol. 5, pp. 83-153. New York and London: Academic Press.
27.
Noë, R. and Hammerstein, P. (1994) “Biological Markets: Supply and Demand Determine the Effect of Partner Choice in Cooperation, Mutualism and Mating”, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology35: 1-11.
28.
Noë, R. and Hammerstein, P. (1995) “Biological Markets”, Trends in Ecology and Evolution10(8): 336-339.
29.
Noë, R. , van Schaik, C.P. and van Hooff, J.R.A.M. (1991) “The Market Effect: An Explanation for Pay-off Asymmetries among Collaborating Animals”, Ethology87: 97-118.
30.
Prins, H.H.T. (1987) “The Buffalo of Manyara. The Individual in the Context of Herd Life in a Seasonal Environment of East Africa”, PhD thesis, University of Groningen, Netherlands.
31.
Rajecki, D.W. , Lamb, M.E. and Obmascher, P. (1978) “Toward a General Theory of Infantile Attachment: A Comparative Review of Aspects of the Social Bond”, Behavioral and Brain Sciences3: 417-464.
32.
Raveling, D.G. (1969) “Preflight and Flight Behavior of Canada Geese”, The Auk86: 671-681.
33.
Rees, E.C. (1987) “Conflict of Choice within Pairs of Bewick's Swans Regarding their Migratory Movements to and from the Wintering Grounds”, Animal Behaviour35: 1685-1693.
34.
Reinhardt, V. (1983) “Movement Orders and Leadership in a Semi-wild Cattle Herd”, Behaviour83: 251-264.
35.
Salzen, E.A. (1978) “Social Attachment and a Sense of Security: A Review”, Social Science Information17: 555-627.
36.
Sigg, H. and Stolba, A. (1981) “Home Range and Daily March in a Hamadryas Baboon Troop”, Folia Primatologica36: 40-75.
37.
Squires, V.R. and Daws, G.T. (1975) “Leadership and Dominance Relationships in Merino and Border Leicester Sheep”, Applied Animal Ethology1: 263-274.
38.
Stolba, A. (1979) “Entscheidungsfindung in Verbänden von Papio hamadryas”, PhD thesis, University of Zürich, Switzerland.
39.
Wickler, W. (1976) “The Ethological Analysis of Attachment: Sociometric, Motivational, and Sociophysiological Aspects”, Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie41: 12-28.
