The Alpha Male Concept

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So apparently I am a gamma/delta cross. Good to know.

... I wonder if the greek-letter nomenclature is intended to imply a heirarchy though - I'd be really interested in hearing how they support the relative superiority/inferiority of the 4 basic types if so.

Supposedly, the 'Alphas' are at the top of the hierarchy, and the 'Deltas' are at the bottom. This is not to say that Deltas are the lowest form of human life, but to say that in hierarchical organizations, 'Deltas' have the lowest rank in the formalized "pecking order".

There is a fifth, albeit informal, group known as the 'Omegas'.

OMEGA: The polar opposite of the Alpha Male. Omega Males can have friends and close acquaintances but prefer to accomplish things on their own without the help of a group. Omega Males generally don't belong to any cliques and have no desire to be the leader or most outstanding of a group. Omega Males have relations with people from all groups and carry a resourcefulness and cunning strength to get a job done with their own skill. This being said, an Omega Male can have great pride without it manifesting as ego gratification.

An alpha male must absolutely be perceived by his peers as the toughest, most popular, and smartest. An Omega Male cares little for this recognition, but knows that he is all those things and much more.

Alpha males must have the support of other beta males. This support can be the foundation for many shallow and superficial relationships. An Omega Male needs support from time to time, but has few true friends who know him intimately and generally shuns shallow acquaintances.

In Animals: Two Alpha Rams are butting heads while a Beta female watches. The winner is the strongest and therefore the best material for mating. Wait a second ... a third ram runs out of the woods and mates with the female while the two Alphas males are fighting. THAT is the Omega Male.

How odd. I had the impression that in groups of primates, the Omega was the runt of the group, bottom of the pile, got last pick of the food and probably wouldn't mate at all. The "butt monkey" if you like. Did I get the wrong end of the metaphorical stick altogether?

According to the California Psychological Inventory, the four Personality Types are defined as:

Alpha Types

- Alphas invest themselves in the shared, interpersonal world, and in adherence to norms.
- Alphas are doers, people who carry out the sanctioned mandates of the culture.
- They are ambitious, assertive, enterprising, and outgoing.
- At their best, they can be charismatic leaders and instigators of constructive social action.
- At their worst, they can be self-centered, opportunistic, defensive, and manipulative.

Beta Types

- Betas center their interests internally, and on the acceptance of norms and precepts.
- They are the preservers of values, sources of wisdom, and the nurturers and restorers of tradition.
- They are steady, cautious, moderate, and conventional.
- At their best, they can be inspirational models of goodness and insight.
- At their worst, they can be conformist, constricted, fearful, and anergic ("Lacking in energy; Inactive").

Gamma Types

- Gammas are externally oriented, but make their decisions on personal values.
- Gammas are the doubters, the skeptics, who strive to change the status quo.
- They are adventurous, clever, headstrong, and progressive.
- At their best, they are innovative, insightful, and creative.
- At their worst, they are rebellious, intolerant, self-indulgent, and disruptive.

Delta Types

- Deltas are focused on their own internal and personal value systems.
- Deltas are reflective, sensitive idiosyncratic, preoccupied, quiet, reserved, and detached.
- At their best, they are ideationally and imaginatively creative, esthetically perceptive, and visionary.
- At their worst, they are fragmented, self-defeating, withdrawn, and prone to decompensation.

How do these official definitions correlate with the preceding subjective opinions?

Very rarely read Urban Dictionary, and what does it have to do with the topic?