SIGNALLING OF RESOURCE HOLDING POTENTIAL (RHP)
Extract from:
Price, J.S. (1988) Alternative channels for
negotiating asymmetry in social relationships. In Social Fabrics of
the Mind (ed. M.R.A.Chance)
Behavioural ecologists have for many years been
concerned with the mathematics of ritual agonistic behaviour (RAB), or pairwise
contests, and the selective forces acting on the strategies used in them
(Maynard Smith, 1982). They have
introduced an intervening variable which they call Resource Holding Potential
(RHP) to assist in the mathematical analysis of such contests (Parker, 1974,
1984). RHP is a measure of fighting
capacity and on the input side it is determined by such factors as age, size,
weapons, previous success and availability of allies. On the output side it determines probability
of fighting (rather than submitting or withdrawing) in a contest, and also
duration and intensity of fighting once a contest has begun. All the attack components of agonistic
behaviour, including dominance display, threat display, challenge, attack and chasing, are looked on as signals of RHP.
There
is, to my knowledge, no concept currently in use in psychology which expresses
the equivalent of RHP;
it is related to the idea of self-confidence, but the latter term
is poorly defined and in any case refers to confidence in other areas in
addition to fighting ability; it is also
related to the "dominance feeling" described by Maslow (1937) but
this term has not been in use since the last war. I think RHP is a helpful term in the
conceptualisation of RAB and I hope that in extending it somewhat in its
psychological meaning I am not distorting the meaning it already has in
behavioural ecology.
The Calculation of Relative RHP
In a contest, or ritual agonistic encounter, we
are concerned with each contestant's evaluation of his own RHP compared with
his assessment of his adversary's RHP - what Parker (1982) has called relative
RHP. This is a somewhat complex
evaluation, and it might be useful to recognise the following subdivisions of
RHP:
1. Absolute RHP.
Each individual has some general idea of his own fighting capacity in
relation to other individuals, regardless of who may be his specific adversary
on any one occasion. This value of RHP
determines any undirected dominance display which the individual signals to the
world at large, and the directed dominance display (challenge or threat) which
he makes to a potential adversary at the beginning of an encounter, before he
has had time to assess the other's RHP.
2. Signal of absolute RHP. This is the signal given in the dominance
displays mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Such a signal can obviously be faked, but I will assume here that it is
an accurate reflection of absolute RHP, in order not to complicate further an
already sufficiently complex subject.
3. Estimate of adversary's RHP. I will assume that this is an estimate which
reflects the information received from the adversary's "signal of absolute
RHP", but, if faking is suspected, the estimate could be revised up or
down.
4. Estimate of relative RHP. This is derived from a comparison of (1) and
(3) above. We do not know how this
comparison is made, but in the simplest case it must give a result which is
either favourable or unfavourable, in order to determine the choice between two
possible courses of action: escalation
and submission. These actions then
become signals in the next round of the conflict.
5. Signal of relative RHP. A contest is an iterative process which may
last for several "bouts", so that, at each stage, each contestant is
estimating his adversary's relative RHP, comparing this estimate with his own
absolute RHP to calculate his own relative RHP (which may be either favourable
or unfavourable), and signalling this relative RHP by either escalating or
submitting. For simplicity I will assume
a two stage contest in which a period of mutual assessment is followed either
by the submission of one contestant or by a period of engagement in which there
is mutual attack. During the assessment
stage, either contestant may submit by giving a signal of unfavourable relative
RHP, and thus leave the encounter in a subordinate role but without loss of RHP
- what Sloman and Price (1987) called "voluntary yielding"; or the contestant
may enter the engagement stage by giving a signal of favourable relative RHP
and thus have a chance of winning, but at the risk of losing and being forced
into what we called "agonistic yielding”, with associated loss of RHP.
The Two Components of the RHP Signal
Although it may be convenient to amalgamate
them for mathematical purposes (Parker, 1984), from the psychological point of
view "signal of absolute RHP" is very different from "signal of
relative RHP". The two differ in
the following ways:
1. Stage of assessment versus stage of
engagement. Signal of absolute RHP is
saying "This is what I am like; examine me and assess my power",
and it occurs in the assessment phase of the agonistic encounter, when the
adversaries are confronting each other or circling round each other in mutual
appraisal. Signal of relative RHP is
saying "I am better than you and I will prove it", and it occurs in
the engagement phase in the encounter, when the adversaries are engaged in some
very ritualised and species-specific activity such as repeatedly charging at
each other head on.
2. Semantic versus
The
difference between the signals of absolute and relative RHP is probably due to
the fact that in the process of sender/receiver co-evolution the exchange of
signals of absolute RHP has been a co-operative matter, in that, if there is a
real disparity between the RHP of the contestants, it is in both their
interests that the one with lower RHP should rapidly and efficiently identify
the disparity and submit. In contrast,
the exchange of signals of relative RHP has been a competitive matter during
sender/receiver co-evolution, because it occurs only if there is no great
difference in absolute RHP and each contestant has a fair chance of
winning; each is interested not only
that the winner should be decided quickly but also that they should be that
winner.
3. Species similarity versus species
specificity. Signals of absolute RHP
tend to be common across species, such as upright posture, confident gait,
display of weapons and large size.
Exceptions such as the blue colouring of the rainbow lizard (Harris,
1964) are rare. Signals of relative RHP,
on the other hand, tend to be highly species-specific in that each species has
its own form of "combat"; some, like the head charging of the
bison involve bodily contact whereas others such as the gill erection of the
Siamese fighting fish do not, and consist entirely of an exchange of signals at
a distance; within these categories the
signals are similar in general form but highly specific in detail.
4. Different effect on allies. The signalling of absolute and relative RHP
can be further differentiated if we postulate the presence of an ally. Display of absolute RHP is received by
allies, and it boosts rather than lowers their RHP. However, allies do not signal relative RHP to
each other, except in mock fights for practice.
Catathetic Signals
Because "signal of favourable relative
RHP" is a cumbersome phrase, and because there is no exact ethological
equivalent, I propose the term catathetic to describe
the signals that are exchanged during the engagement phase of the agonistic encounter(and at other times to reinforce dominance). Catathetic comes from
the Greek words for "put" and "down", expressing the
function of catathetic signals which is to put the
other individual down, in the sense of making him yield and/or lowering his
RHP. (I am aware that "cathairetic" would be more correct from the etymological
point of view, but "catathetic" is easier
to use).
Considering the species-specificity and the low information content of catathetic signals (illustrated by the analogy of the
remote control TV button) it is likely that some very specific neural
structures have co-evolved for the sending and receiving of these signals. Ethologists I have consulted are not happy to
accept that catathetic signals are sign stimuli
acting on an innate releasing mechanism to release the fixed action pattern of
the yielding subroutine;
but something similar to this classical ethological process seems
likely.
Catathetic Signals in Man
Human beings are unique in the animal kingdom
in being able to verbalise the signal of favourable relative RHP (catathetic signals).
The message of the signal is "I am better than you", and
whereas other species need to indulge in various pushing and pulling contests
in order to get the message across, human beings can simply say it. Of course, if both say it, they are in a
contest, and they have to keep on saying it until one gives up or escalates to
the next stage which is physical attack.
Therefore human ritual agonistic encounters take the form of slanging matches in which each contestant continues
verbally to assert his superiority over the other, with varying degrees of
imagination and sophistication. This
verbal interchange is the human species-specific form of catathetic
signalling. Since it appears to be
generally true that the structures responsible for catathetic
signals (such as the stag's antlers) tend to become hypertrophied due to sexual
selection, the same argument must be one reason for the development of the
richness of human language.
Human catathetic signals may consist of a simple comparative
statement (e.g., I am cleverer than you), or, rarely, a statement of the
speaker's RHP (boasting) but more usually it is a statement emphasising or
implying the other's low RHP, such as criticism, sarcasm, insult, disparagement
(of the other and his/her allies) or even silence, implying "you are not
worth speaking to". Escalated catathetic signals involve physical contact such as
hitting, scratching, biting, caning, flogging, etc.
Raush et al. (1974) were able to reproduce this phenomenon
in married couples put in a situation of artificial conflict. When told to choose between a baseball match
on TV and a programme on naming a baby, some couples discussed the matter
rationally and came to a decision; some avoided conflict altogether, but
a third group generalised the conflict into what was clearly a ritual agonistic
encounter. In the latter group the
verbal content typically included criticism of the spouse's mother, and
complaints about ill-deeds committed many years ago; the content had a stereotyped quality
and was reproduced on subsequent occasions.
The
concept of catathetic signals gives us an opportunity
to tackle the definition of the term "mental pain" which is often
used loosely in connection with depression.
We can say that, whereas physical pain is felt on receipt of "contact"
catathetic signals (such as hitting), mental pain is
felt on receipt of non-contact catathetic signals
(such as criticism). Of course, the
situation is not so simple, and mental pain may be experienced in other
circumstances, such as the receipt of bad news (e.g. loss of an ally); but it may be that such pain-inducing
circumstances share with catathetic signals the
property of lowering RHP.
Anathetic Signals
One advantage of the concept of catathetic signalling (whose function is to lower RHP in
the recipient) is the facilitation of the opposite concept of anathetic signalling whose function is to raise RHP in the
recipient. I think it is true to say
that much of social life which is not devoted to justifying our position on
various matters (Totman, 1986) and thus,
incidentally, reinforcing our own RHP, is actually devoted to manipulating
other people's RHP, either lowering it with catathetic
signals or raising it with anathetic signals. As far as the precipitation of depression
goes, it may be that reduction in anathetic signals
has the same effect as increase in catathetic
signals, and this raises the possibility of a bridge between the social
competition model and the loss model of depression; if we allow that anathetic
signals can operate in the hedonic mode, they would include the
"narcissistic supplies" of classical psychoanalysis (Gaylin, 1983) whose withdrawal is thought to lead to
depression, and also the sociological concept of processual
status, whose cessation Kemper (1978, and this volume) has postulated as a
cause of depression. It is possible that
anathetic signals evolved as negative catathetic signals, allowing a functional connection
between the new mammalian brain subserving affiliation and the old reptilian
brain subserving agonism (MacLean, 1986).
But it is beyond the scope of the present discussion to ask whether RHP
can be manipulated in the hedonic mode, or how RHP, which could be described as
confidence in one's power over people, fits in with the broader concept of
self-esteem, which also includes confidence in one's power over things,
knowledge of one's popularity and a sense of the integrity of one's honour and
virtue (Coopersmith, 1967).
In the
same way that catathetic signals may be, variously, a
glorification of the self, a disparagement of the other, or a comparative
statement asserting the self's superiority over the other, so also anathetic signals may take different forms. The most common form is praise or
glorification of the other;
but denigration of the self is also an anathetic
signal, a fact which may be useful in conceptualising the self-denigratory speech of depressed patients. Anathetic signals
may also take a comparative form, such as "You are better than/superior
to/more powerful than me". This is
the message of submission;
in other words, the signal of unfavourable relative RHP. Thus we have defined escalation and
submission in terms of the signals which act on the adversary's RHP: escalation = signal of favourable relative
RHP = catathetic signal = lowering influence on
adversary's RHP; and
submission = signal of unfavourable relative RHP = anathetic
signal = boosting influence on adversary's RHP.
Down-hierarchy Catathetic
Signals
The discussion above has been concerned with
the exchange of catathetic signals between
individuals of equal rank. However, catathetic signals are also exchanged between individuals
in asymmetrical relationships. They are
usually directed from the dominant to the subordinate, and have the function of
confirming and reinforcing the dominance.
If they are directed from the subordinate to the dominant, they suggest
a rebellion against the existing rank structure. It is an interesting fact that the quality of
catathetic signals is similar whether they are
directed to an equal, a subordinate or a dominant. It is the quantity which varies and which
differentiates symmetry from asymmetry, and dominance from subordinacy. In fact, it is the relative quantity of catathetic signals which is used to define dominance in
many studies; and it is the consistency
over time of this relative quantity, and its correlation with other measures
such as supplanting, precedence and advertence which gave rise to the concept
of dominance/subordinacy in the first place (Deag, 1977; Richards, 1974; Kauffmann,
1983); a concept which has stood the
test of time in spite of a suggestion that it might be an artifact
of captivity (Rowell, 1974).
At
least in human beings, however, catathetic signals
may differ in quality, depending on whether they are directed up or down a
hierarchy. To take an extreme example, a
pupil may be cheeky to his teacher, and a teacher may cane his pupil; but we cannot
imagine the pupil caning the teacher or the teacher being cheeky to the pupil.
The
down-hierarchy catathetic signal contains two
messages at different logical levels.
First of all it is a straightforward catathetic
signal which causes mental or physical pain in the usual way. But, secondly, it contains the message
"I am in a position to give you a signal which is only given by dominant
people to subordinate people". This
higher level message also causes mental pain (humiliation). Thus the pupil receives pain from the caning
and pain in the form of humiliation from the fact of being caned.
Asymmetrical Anathetic
and Neutral Signals
Like catathetic signals, most anathetic
signals are similar whether directed up- or down-hierarchy; but, likewise, some are not, such as
patronising behaviour (e.g., tipping).
Equally, some RHP-neutral signals, such as those related to the task in
hand, may be asymmetrical;
for instance, to give certain types of order in certain tones of
voice may only be appropriate to the one who is dominant (in the agonic mode)
even though the pair or group may be operating in the hedonic mode and the
subordinate individual may be in the role of leader.
It
seems likely that the receipt of such an asymmetrical anathetic
or neutral signal has the same effect as a catathetic
signal, in that it is a threat to the recipient's RHP and challenges his
dominance (or equality). Thus an
asymmetrical anathetic signal boosts the recipient's
RHP at one logical level and lowers it at another. The net effect may be to lower RHP and/or
trigger a yielding subroutine.
(References in the original, or may be obtained
from the author)
Comment in 1998
By and large I would stand by the above, with
the following provisos:
1. While
we can say that the function of catathetic signals is
to lower RHP in the recipient, they only do so if they are not returned. The function of the RHP signalling system is
to break symmetry. A fight in which
equal blows are traded does not lower the RHP of either contestant. Only when one contestant fails to return the
blows of the other is there a lowering of his RHP and a break in symmetry.
This
may be important in the training of children not to fight. If the child does not return a blow because
of high moral standards, his RHP adjustment mechanism may not have access to
this information, and may assume that the blow has not been returned because of
weakness, and so lower his RHP.
2. The
fact that one attacks (rather than submits) is a signal of favourable relative
RHP. The strength of the attack is a
signal of absolute RHP, so that absolute RHP continues to be signalled during a
fight, often in different ways, as the fight escalates from, say, roaring, to
parallel walking, to locking of horns.
3.
Although I still think it is useful to look on the catathetic
signal as a signal of favourable relative RHP, it is also influenced by two
other variables.
Resource value is a measure of how valuable a resource is to a
particular individual, and the higher the resource value, the more likely the
individual is to attack. For instance,
in certain territorial cichlid fish, a territory becomes more valuable when the
fish is in breeding condition; and success in territorial disputes
was found to be more related to relative gonad size than to relative body size
(2). Resource value expresses the
motivational element in fighting. The
message is, "I can and will defeat you!": RHP provides the "can", and
resource value provides the "will".
Ownership is another variable that determines the likelihood of attack
rather than submit. It is an almost
universal convention among vertebrates that a resident or owner attacks an
intruder, and is likely to be victorious.
When
an encounter occurs on neutral territory, and concerns a resource which is of
equal value to both contestants, the catathetic
signal is a true signal of favourable relative RHP.
We
have pointed out (1) that lowering of RHP, resource value and sense of
ownership can account for a lot of the clinical features of depressive
states. This is in accord with our view
that the capacity for depression evolved as a component of ritual agonistic behaviour.
1. Neat,
F.C., Huntingford, F.A. & Beveridge, M.M.C.
(1998) Fighting and assessment in male cichlid fish: the effects of asymmetries in gonadal state and body size. Animal Behaviour, 55, 875-882.
2.
Stevens, A. & Price, J. (1996) Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning.