Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T04:06:47.180Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Power Seekers are Different: Further Biochemical Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Douglas Madsen
Douglas Madsen*
Affiliation:
University of Iowa
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In an article previously published in this Review I demonstrated that power-seeking, by which I mean the pursuit of social dominance, has a biochemical marker, namely, whole blood serotonin (WBS). Those individuals who are especially hard-charging and competitive have especially high WBS levels. This paper presents the results from an investigation of dynamics in the response of high WBS individuals to actual competition. My expectation—that they would exhibit special physiological activation in the face of challenge—is fully borne out by the evidence. Four hormonal indicators of activation were followed in blood samples taken during a series of social competitions. All four show distinctive patterns for the high WBS group. These results, in addition to providing new evidence on the behavior of the endocrine system in competitive settings, impressively support the view that WBS is a biological property having fundamental significance for behavioral political science.

Type
Research Notes
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 80 , Issue 1 , March 1986 , pp. 261 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Axelrod, Julius, and Reisine, Terry D.. 1984. Stress Hormones: Their Interaction and Regulation. Science, 224:452–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dimsdale, J. C., and Moss, J.. 1980. Plasma Catecholamines in Stress and Exercise. Journal of the American Medical Association, 243:340–42.Google Scholar
Glass, David C., Krakoff, Lawrence R., Contrata, Richard, Hilton, William F., Kehoe, Kathleen, Manucci, Elinor G., Collins, Carla, Snow, Barry, and Elting, Ellen. 1980. Effect of Harassment and Competition upon Cardiovascular and Plasma Catecholamine Responses in Type A and Type B Individuals. Psychophysiology, 17:453–63.Google Scholar
Leblanc, J., Cote, J., Jobin, J., and Labrie, A.. 1979. Plasma Catecholamines and Cardiovascular Responses to Cold and Mental Activity. Journal of Applied Physiology, 47:1207–11.Google Scholar
Lewis, David A., and Sherman, Barry M.. 1984. Serotonergic Stimulation of Adrenocorticotropin Secretion in Man. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 58:458–62.Google Scholar
Linsell, C. R., Lightman, S. L., Muller, P. E., Brown, M. J., and Causen, R. C.. 1985. Circadian Rhythms of Epinephrine and Norepinephrine in Man. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 60:1210–15.Google Scholar
Madsen, Douglas. 1985. A Biochemical Property Relating to Power-Seeking in Humans. American Political Science Review, 79:448–57.Google Scholar
McGuire, Michael T., Raleigh, Michael J., and Brammer, Gary L.. 1982. Sociopharmacology. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 22: 643–61.Google Scholar
McGuire, Michael T., Raleigh, Michael J., and Brammer, Gary L.. In Press. Resting Cortisol Levels and the Emergence of Dominant Status among Male Vervet Monkeys. Hormones and Behavior.Google Scholar
McGuire, Michael T., Raleigh, Michael J., and Johnson, C.. 1983. Social Dominance in Adult Male Vervet Monkeys II: Behavior-Biochemical Relationships. Social Science Information, 22: 311–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raleigh, Michael J., and McGuire, Michael T.. 1980. Biosocialpharmacology. McLean Hospital Journal, 2:73–84.Google Scholar
Raleigh, Michael J., Brammer, Gary L., McGuire, Michael T., and Yuwiler, Arthur. In press. Dominant Social Status Facilitates the Behavioral Effects of Serotonergic Agonists. Brain Research.Google Scholar
Raleigh, Michael J., Brammer, Gary L., and McGuire, Michael T.. 1983. Male Dominance and the Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Drugs in Vervet Monkeys. In Miczek, K., ed., Ethopharmacology. New York: A.R. Liss.Google Scholar
Raleigh, Michael J., Brammer, Gary L., McGuire, Michael T., Yuwiler, A, Geller, E., and Johnson, C.. 1983. Social Status Related Differences in Behavioral Effects of Drugs in Vervet Monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus). In Steklis, H. and Kling, A., eds., Hormones, Drugs, and Social Behavior in Primates. New York: Spectrum Publications.Google Scholar
Raleigh, Michael J., Yuwiler, A., Brammer, Gary L., McGuire, Michael T., Geller, E., and Flannery, J. W.. 1981. Peripheral Correlates of Serotonergically-Influenced Behaviors in Vervet Monkeys. Psychopharmacology, 72:241–46.Google Scholar
Velleman, Paul F. 1980. Definition and Comparison of Robust Nonlinear Data Smoothers. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 75:609–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, Marcia M., Mefford, Ivan N., Parker, Stanley D., Chesney, Margaret A., Taylor, C. Barr, Keegan, David L., and Barkas, Jack D.. 1983. Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Responses in Continuously Collected Human Plasma to a Series of Stressors. Psychosomatic Medicine, 45:471–86.Google Scholar
Ward, Marcia M., Parker, Stanley D., Chesney, Margaret A., Rosenman, Ray H., and Mefford, Ivan N.. 1983. Catecholamine and Cardiovascular Responses to Mental Arithmetic, Handgrip, and Cold Pressor in Type A and Type B Men. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Asilomar, CA.Google Scholar