On player psychology_ Alphas and Betas don't exist in the wild

[madtownvol]

You have read and perhaps said it innumerable times -- some players and coaches are Alphas and some are Betas and that is a natural order that just had to be followed and respected.

The origin of this idea comes from a 1940's study of captive wolves and their behavior. Researchers assumed that this same behavior would be repeated in the wild (its nature amirite!!!) and the rest of society extrapolated this alpha - beta relationship to the whole of human existence and it has taken particularly deep roots in the world of sports psychology.

It turns out the progenitor of the alpha wolf idea, after studying wolves in the wild, realized he was completely wrong and has spent the rest of his career trying to correct this misperception:

But after he published the book, he noted that later studies on wolves in the wild showed that this model is outdated.

“That concept was based on the old idea that wolves fight within a pack to gain dominance and that the winner is the ‘alpha’ wolf,” Mech said.

“[The book was] republished in paperback in 1981, and currently still in print, despite my numerous pleas to the publisher to stop publishing it. Although most of the book’s info is still accurate, much is outdated. We have learned more about wolves in the last 40 years than in all of previous history,” he added.

Like other debunked or misinterpreted science that is somehow still popular, such as Darwin’s survival of the fittest (misunderstood by many as ‘the strongest are favored by nature to survive’) or John Locke’s Tabula Rasa, the alpha wolf is perhaps more widespread in popular culture than ever.

AND

One of the implications of the ‘alpha’ of the pack is that individuals compete with others to become the top dog, typically through battle.

However, in the wild, the leading members of a pack are the breeders of the offspring. In other words, the vast majority of wolves that lead packs earn their position simply by mating and producing pups. For this reason, scientists now call leading wolves the “breeding male,” “breeding female,” or “male parent,” “female parent,” or the “adult male” or “adult female.”

This has been confirmed by many recent studies, including two papers published by David Mech in 1999 and 2000, who extraordinarily managed to make a wolf pack from Ellesmere Island in Canada acclimatize to his presence over the course of 13 summers. Mech was able to study the pack up close, sometimes from up to a meter away. “Dominance fights with other wolves are rare, if they exist at all. During my 13 summers where I observed the pack, I saw none,” Mech wrote in one of his articles.

Full read here: There's no such thing as 'alpha' males or females in wolf packs

I know the world and this board will continue to explain teams and athletes using the alpha-beta myth. As the linked article also states:

Today, the term ‘alpha wolf’ is no longer in fashion among researchers specialized in wolf ecology. However, it is still in use in the vernacular and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future. Yet humans who subscribe to the idea of “alpha males” might want to keep in mind that this concept only applies to the behavior of captive and cornered creatures."

 

[youcancallmeAl]

You mean to say that male tigers that don't kill their young aren't wimpy betas?

And isn't the alpha-beta myth actually true in the case of Beta O'Rourke?

 

[Lucy]

You have read and perhaps said it innumerable times -- some players and coaches are Alphas and some are Betas and that is a natural order that just had to be followed and respected.

The origin of this idea comes from a 1940's study of captive wolves and their behavior. Researchers assumed that this same behavior would be repeated in the would (its nature amirite!!!) and the rest of society extrapolated this alpha - beta relationship to the whole of human existence and it has taken particularly deep roots in the world of sports psychology.

It turns out the progenitor of the alpha wolf idea, after studying wolves in the wild, realized he was completely wrong and has spent the rest of his career trying to correct this misperception:



AND



Full read here: There's no such thing as 'alpha' males or females in wolf packs

I know the world and this board will continue to explain teams and athletes using the alpha-beta myth. As the linked article also states:

Very interesting!! Our dogs exhibit this behavior. Wonder if domesticated animals turned back into the wild would revert to the wild wolf society model? Hmmm.
Have you read Song Of The Cell? Seems like it might be up your alley.

 

[creekdipper]

Very interesting!! Our dogs exhibit this behavior. Wonder if domesticated animals turned back into the wild would revert to the wild wolf society model? Hmmm.
Have you read Song Of The Cell? Seems like it might be up your alley.

Love Never Cry Wolf (book & movie).

 

[madtownvol]

Very interesting!! Our dogs exhibit this behavior. Wonder if domesticated animals turned back into the wild would revert to the wild wolf society model? Hmmm.
Have you read Song Of The Cell? Seems like it might be up your alley.

I have not but your rec prompted me to find a review. It is now on my list. Thanks,

 

[1reVOLver]

Alpha and beta critters, meet the domino theory. (As retracted by Rob't. McNamara)

When will they ever learn?

 

[37620VOL]

Very interesting. Next time I'm at Bays Mtn I'll have to ask the park naturalist his thoughts on this. These are captive wolves and you can easily identify the female alpha and the male alpha within 10 minutes of observation. Here again, they almost never fight but there is a definite and observable social ladder.

I'm quite surprised such differences in behavior would be observed in the wild. Definitely interesting and something to read about further.

 

[tnburban]

The guy you call when you can't fix your car, plumbing, electrical, hot water heater, and more...especially when you found a youtube video and tried to do it yourself but made it worse.

Yeah, that's the alpha. That's the guy who when the SHTF will be just fine while the betas go around begging for help.

 

[creekdipper]

Very interesting. Next time I'm at Bays Mtn I'll have to ask the park naturalist his thoughts on this. These are captive wolves and you can easily identify the female alpha and the male alpha within 10 minutes of observation. Here again, they almost never fight but there is a definite and observable social ladder.

I'm quite surprised such differences in behavior would be observed in the wild. Definitely interesting and something to read about further.

We've had deer hit in the road die on our property on two separate occasions. Both times we called Bays Mtn., and they promptly sent out a truck to fetch the carcass to feed the wolves. Just FYI.

 

[37620VOL]

We've had deer hit in the road die on our property on two separate occasions. Both times we called Bays Mtn., and they promptly sent out a truck to fetch the carcass to feed the wolves. Just FYI.

That's a big help to them. It saves the park a lot of money on food, plus it's better for the wolves.