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Biosociology of Dominance and Deference, by Allan Mazur. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 184 pp. $21.95 paper. ISBN: 0742536939.
Veteran biosociologist Allan Mazur has written a tightly reasoned book about biological mechanisms underlying face-to-face human dominance hierarchies, defined as "fairly persistent, unequal rankings of members in terms of power, influence, and access to valued prerogatives" (p. 7). Many sociologists will find the author's view on the relationship between biology and sociology appealing-or at least non-threatening. The author eschews imperialistic claims from either side: "We seek a middle road, avoiding the strong genetic and selectionist assumptions of classic ethology and sociobiology, while rejecting as well the biologically immaculate view of contemporary sociology" (p. 3). The continuity of physiological and psychological mechanisms of dominance between the animal world (especially closely phylogenetically related apes) and our species is most striking at the level of face-to-face, small group interactions. Technologically advanced agrarian and industrial societies also contain large-scale official hierarchies (formal organizations) and socioeconomic hierarchies (social class systems) that have no direct counterpart in the animal world. As Mazur points out, however, large-scale hierarchies typically resolve into locally autonomous primary groups whose members know each other personally, and dominance hierarchies originating within these primary groups "permeate all larger human social structures." Thus, understanding the biology of dominance in primary groups is essential for understanding hierarchies on a larger scale.
Evolution by natural selection affects not only the shape of bones and other "hard" parts, but also the structure of the brain and the...