The Alpha Male Concept

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I see it as a form of mental masturbating, something which I like to do a lot . I hear it talked about on the internet, so I often attempt to formulate a discussion about it. The truth is, it is so easy to assume character types as a human and literally embed traits on top of our core attributes that these labels really are futile.

I just like talking about the concept because everyone who has an opinion on it has a different take.

Nice one.

I reckon I'm a Gamma at their worst. Wouldn't mind taking the test although I'd probably end up as different to my wish.

Whatever I am does okay in bars at the moment though.

The Alpha male is the leader of the pack he is the strongest all the pack he has authority over.

The others and is a leader I do not fall under any of these because I would rather be a soldier.

Then a leader because I am much better at taking orders then giving them.

Some of the HR people I know toss these terms around in such a way that it sounds like a catechism.

Alvin the chipmunk was a true Alpha.

There is a lot of speculation about alpha males but I really dont care. Whatever an alpha male is, I dont want one. Im not an alpha female so why would I want an alpha male?

In terms of our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, "alpha males" demonstrate a variety of leadership styles. Some are brutish, some are not. And it is not at all uncommon for violent, overly aggressive males to get the boot. Male chimps rely mostly on social alliances to achieve and maintain power because single male chimps are not physically strong enough to keep their positions by force alone.

With our other closest relatives, bonobos, it doesn't matter because females are the dominant ones, and dominance passes from mother to son.

Going down a rung, various monkey species display multiple dominance styles ranging from the proactive and aggressive to the laid-back and tolerant.

The idea that "alpha male = a$$hole" is largely a stereotype gleaned from 80s teen flicks.

Back in my Wall Street days, I used to work with lots of stereotypical "Alpha-Males" and found most of them to actually be pretty cool and surprisingly morally decent overall. The real as*holes were actually "Betas" trying to be Alphas - usually some black sheep from an old money family that got in through connections.

I really can't describe where I fit in to the heirarchy. I was generally treated well and respected for my expertise even though I wasn't a "warrior" - kind of like a witchdoctor/shaman is in some tribal societies I suppose.

That still didn't keep me from being called "Rain Man" though...

According to the definitions posted on the previous page, I'd say I'm closest to a female Alpha/Beta cross. But obviously it's pretty much impossible to classify an individual according to such a simplified grouping and limited set of traits.

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