You refer to status as an attribute of a person, but now I’m wondering how the brain represents status. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of high status being the same thing as the willingness to let others control you.
I think your phrase “willingness to let others control you” is conveying a kinda strange vibe. (Not sure how deliberate that is.)
Story: I have a hunch that the blue paint color will look best, but my interior decorator has a hunch that the green paint color will look best. I defer to her judgment because she’s an experienced professional whom I trust—partly because her previous projects have all come out beautifully. So I order the green paint.
In this story, am I “letting my interior decorator control me”? Ummm, kinda? But that’s an awfully strange way to describe that interaction! I don’t immediately see the merit of that framing.
You refer to status as an attribute of a person, but now I’m wondering how the brain represents status. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of high status being the same thing as the willingness to let others control you.
You can find my current opinions about status in:
Social status part 1/2: negotiations over object-level preferences
Social status part 2/2: everything else
[Valence series] 4. Valence & Liking / Admiring
I think your phrase “willingness to let others control you” is conveying a kinda strange vibe. (Not sure how deliberate that is.)
Story: I have a hunch that the blue paint color will look best, but my interior decorator has a hunch that the green paint color will look best. I defer to her judgment because she’s an experienced professional whom I trust—partly because her previous projects have all come out beautifully. So I order the green paint.
In this story, am I “letting my interior decorator control me”? Ummm, kinda? But that’s an awfully strange way to describe that interaction! I don’t immediately see the merit of that framing.