KhizooologyThe Status Game
Notice which game supplies the scoreboard.
Big Idea
Storr argues that the pursuit of status within groups helps explain much human behavior, while remaining one lens among several.
Membership before rank
Recognition depends on a group whose approval matters to the person seeking it.
Different status games
Dominance, virtue, and success reward different behaviors and can exist together.
Symbols and rules
A credential, belief, or achievement gains meaning through a group’s particular expectations.
Threatened standing
Humiliation and loss of rank can intensify conflict; that does not excuse harmful responses.
More than one arena
Belonging to several groups can keep one local hierarchy from becoming the measure of an entire life.
Khizooo Take
Identify whose recognition you are chasing, then ask whether that group rewards conduct you respect.
Remember
A group’s scoreboard is not the value of a whole person.