Doctoral Dissertation Research: Exploring the evolutionary origins of prestige in wild primates

与其他动物相比，人类的领导能力被认为是独一无二的，因为它往往植根于声望而不是统治地位。也就是说，有声望的人类领导者不是用身体恐吓来胁迫他人，而是通过钦佩来吸引追随者。我们现存的近亲为理解人类进化史上以声望为基础的领导方式是如何发生的提供了至关重要的比较。在一些物种中，个体维持着由侵略性决定的等级制度，但也表现出相对广泛的合作，这被认为是人类威望的基础。本博士论文研究项目调查野生非人类灵长类动物是否表现出声望型领导的某些特征，同时保持其他动物中所见的支配型领导。作为该项目的一部分，研究人员为小学提供了一个领导力研讨会，强调合作领导的价值和女孩领导的机会，同时支持科学参与和以学生为中心的STEM学习。研究人员将深入的实地研究与野生非人灵长类动物的长期激素和行为数据相结合，对这些灵长类动物的领导能力进行全面的非侵入性探索。为此，他们开发了一种新的统计方法来评估压力生理的纵向稳定性是否表明了气质的个体差异。接下来，他们研究了一贯适度的压力反应和非反应性的性格，这些特征区别于著名的人类领导者，是否也预示着非人类灵长类动物宽容、亲社会的行为策略。最后，他们探讨了行为策略如何促进根植于支配地位与声望的领导途径，特别是询问亲社会性是否通过独立于传统支配地位的社会吸引力而产生利益。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Human leadership is thought to be unique compared to other animals in that it is often rooted in prestige rather than dominance. That is, instead of coercing others using physical intimidation, prestigious human leaders attract followers through admiration. Our closest living relatives provide crucial comparisons for understanding how the transition to prestige-based leadership happened in human evolutionary history. In some species, individuals maintain hierarchies that are defined by aggression but also show relatively extensive cooperation, which has been proposed to underlie human prestige. This doctoral dissertation research project investigates whether wild nonhuman primates exhibit some features of prestige-based leadership while at the same time keeping the dominance-based leadership seen in other animals. As part of this project, the investigators offer a leadership workshop for primary schools that emphasizes the value of cooperative leadership and opportunities for girls’ leadership while supporting scientific engagement and student-centered STEM learning.The investigators integrate an intensive field study with long-term hormonal and behavioral data from the community of wild nonhuman primates to be studied to conduct a comprehensive non-invasive exploration of leadership in these primates. To do so, they develop a novel statistical method to assess whether longitudinal stability of stress physiology is indicative of individual variation in temperament. Next, they examine whether consistently moderate stress responses and non-reactive temperaments that distinguish prestigious human leaders also predict tolerant, prosocial behavioral strategies in nonhuman primates. Finally, they probe how behavioral strategies contribute to leadership pathways rooted in dominance versus prestige, specifically asking whether prosociality incurs benefits via social attractiveness independently of conventional dominance rank.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.