Hierarchy

Either way, many problems of human social interaction can be attributed to the various aspects of human social hierarchy. Hierarchy benefits those at the top and may be a detriment to those at the bottom. This aspect of hierarchy alone, produces much violence between those who want to maintain their positions, and those who want to move up on the scale, or in rare cases, attempt to create political alternatives which in the long run would social systems of hierarchy altogether.

The study of groups and their hierarchal structures, in the academic curriculum, is called Group Dynamics. Hierarchal social pecking orders are thought to be inherent to the human condition, the dynamics of which may be unconscious depending on the individual. Groups of three or more people considered as some kind of unit, are demonstrated to progress through three separate stages, and for some a fourth. The first stage in the formation of a group is introductory, wherein the various members become acquainted with each other. The second stage can be somewhat dynamic in which the the pecking order or group hierarchy is established, from the leader(s) to the lowest ranking members. The establishment of orders of rank can take varying amounts of time, from a very short while to longer periods of time, and some groups may not be able to form at all, because of hierarchal conflicts. The third stage takes the form of a clique, wherein the pecking order is established, and the group may tend to shun newcomers which would upset the established pecking order. The fourth stage, which is often never achieved, is wherein individual members of the group adopt role playing or hierarchal position shifting for the purpose of helping other members of the group who may have specific problems.

Social hierarchy as either inherent to the human biological make-up or considered as a conditioned mechanism, is a dilemma in which there is no agreement, the individual reconciliation of which, may reflect whether one benefits or is hurt by systems of hierarchy. Independent of the question of its legitimacy as biological or conditioned, hierarchy is considered from the perspective of its various manifestations as it is found in the reality of the world.

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