Question
Does the difference between "alpha" and "beta" behavior depend on gender? Why do we speak of alpha/beta males/females instead of just people?
Answer
I am not 100% sure, but I think there are both matriarchies and patriarchies among anthropoid species. Beyond apes, you definitely have both. Elephant society is matriarchal. So too, I believe, is camel society. Perhaps there are cross-species studies of typically patriarchal vs. typically matriarchal species.
Among humans, historically, alpha = male. As with lions, there may be a top female, but through most of history, the top female has merely dominated the other females (as in 1st queen in a harem). See Matt Ridley's "The Red Queen" for way too much detail on this stuff.
That may or may not be changing, and there may or may not be fundamental differences in matriarchies and patriarchies in terms of how they are governed. This is what people get at when they ask about the differences in leadership styles between men and women.
I think facile conclusions are mistaken (eg. the idea that female leaders are naturally more empathetic and consensus driven while male leaders rule more dictatorially... I think this is flawed).
My own theory is that leadership in humans is a sufficiently cerebral job that gender differences are likely far less pronounced than in other species. In other words, male and female alphas are probably far more similar than not, because "alpha can beat up the beta" is no longer part of the definition.
You should also be aware that it hierarchies in wild animals are not straight alpha-to-omega ladders. Non-alphas often have very distinct roles that don't fit neatly in a hierarchy (example, "enforcer" or "peacemaker" or "gatekeeper/bouncer" in wolf society)
Among humans, historically, alpha = male. As with lions, there may be a top female, but through most of history, the top female has merely dominated the other females (as in 1st queen in a harem). See Matt Ridley's "The Red Queen" for way too much detail on this stuff.
That may or may not be changing, and there may or may not be fundamental differences in matriarchies and patriarchies in terms of how they are governed. This is what people get at when they ask about the differences in leadership styles between men and women.
I think facile conclusions are mistaken (eg. the idea that female leaders are naturally more empathetic and consensus driven while male leaders rule more dictatorially... I think this is flawed).
My own theory is that leadership in humans is a sufficiently cerebral job that gender differences are likely far less pronounced than in other species. In other words, male and female alphas are probably far more similar than not, because "alpha can beat up the beta" is no longer part of the definition.
You should also be aware that it hierarchies in wild animals are not straight alpha-to-omega ladders. Non-alphas often have very distinct roles that don't fit neatly in a hierarchy (example, "enforcer" or "peacemaker" or "gatekeeper/bouncer" in wolf society)