#662 Christopher von Rueden: Leadership and Hierarchy from an Evolutionary Perspective
RECORDED ON MAY 13th 2022.
Dr. Christopher von Rueden is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. An anthropologist with expertise in traditional human societies, his research focuses on how humans form status hierarchies, why we evolved to do so, and the demographic and ecological factors that cause our hierarchies to be more or less coercive. Relatedly, he studies the role of leader-follower relationships in the evolution of human cooperation. In addition to his work on status and leadership, he has published on topics such as why humans differ in personality traits and why we have such unique life histories among primates.
In this episode, we talk about leadership and hierarchy. We start with leadership from an evolutionary perspective. We talk about hierarchy in human societies. We discuss how human form coalitions and maintain them. We talk about the role of biology, culture, and ecology in the study of hierarchy and leadership. We discuss leader-follower relationships. We talk about leadership in small-scale egalitarian societies versus large-scale unequal societies. Finally, we discuss sex differences in leadership.
Time Links:
Intro
Leadership, from an evolutionary perspective
Hierarchy in human societies
Different kinds of hierarchy
How humans form coalitions
Biology, culture, and ecology in the study of hierarchy and leadership
Ecological factors that influence human hierarchies
Leader-follower relationships
Leadership in small-scale egalitarian societies versus large-scale unequal societies
Is leadership primarily male?
Sex differences in leadership
Follow Dr. von Rueden’s work!
Follow Dr. von Rueden’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3rc06II
Website: https://bit.ly/3N9ADYy
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3owAswL