THE FORMATION OF STATUS HIERARCHIES IN LEADERLESS GROUPS The Role of Male Waist-to-Hip Ratio Lorne Campbell Simon Fraser University Jeffry A. Simpson, Mark Stewart, and John G. Manning Texas A&M University Two studies examined the link between social dominance and male waist- to-hip ratio (WHR). Groups of four men interacted in a leaderless group discussion. In both studies, men with higher WHRs (associated with cur- rent and long-term health status) were rated by other group members as behaving more leader-like when an observer was present, and rated them- selves as being more assertive. In Study 2, men with higher WHRs were rated by independent observers as behaving more dominantly, but only when the evaluator was present. These results are discussed in terms of evolutionary models of health, attraction, and intrasexual competition. KEY WORDS: Evolutionary psychology; Intrasexual competition; Lead- ership; Social dominance; Waist-to-hip ratio Social dominance hierarchies form quickly in many species, particularly among males (de Waal 1982; Ellis 1995; Fisek and Ofshe 1970). Moreover, people can ascertain their future social status within groups quite accu- rately following even brief interactions (Kalma 1991). Although status striving is presumed to be a basic human motive (Barkow 1989; Maslow 1937; Symons 1979), remarkably little is known about what kinds of per- sonal attributes are associated with the display of dominance and the Received April 9, 2001; accepted June 1, 2001 Address all correspondence to Dr. LorneCampbell, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2. Email:lcampb23@uwo.ca Copyright 2002by Walter de Gruyter, Inc., New York Human Nature, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 345-362. 1045-6767/01/$1.00+.10 345