order observed in the G/wi San children seems to be less rigid than
in groups of German and Japanese children. Nonetheless, among San children attention is not equally distributed. Here, as in other
societies, some children attract more attention than others and these
are more often the initiators of games and activities. High regard in G/wi San is very much related to age and special skills or knowledge; it may lead to more influence in matters regarding these skills.
This does not mean that the group members grant any privileges to
the higher-status persons, but they differentiate between group members according to their regard.In summary, cross-cultural studies among children indicate that
the tendency to seek status and form rank orders is universal, and
that food plays a significant role in status-related strategies. How
extensively status differences are recognized, encouraged or permitted, however, depends on the social, ideological, and economic factors in any given society.References
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| Chance M. R.A. 1967. Attention-structure as the basis of primate rank orders. Man 2: 503-18. | |
| Chance M. R.A. and C.Jolly 1970. Social Groups of Monkeys, Apes and Men. London: Jonathan Cape. | |
| DeWaal F. B. 1982. Chimpanzee Politics. London: Jonathan Cape. | |
| Eibl-Eibesfeldt I. 1984. Die Biologie des menschlichen Verhaltens. Grundriss der Humanethologie. München: Piper. | |
| Ellsworth P. C., J. F. Carlsmith and A. Henson. 1972. The stare as a stimulus to flight in human subjects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 21: 302-11. | |
| Emory G. R. 1976. Attention-structure as a determinant of social organization in the mandril (Mandrillus sphynx) and the gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada). In The Social Structure of Attention, ed. M. R.A. Chance and R. R. Larsen. London: Wiley. |
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