Modelling dominance hierarchy formation as a multi-player game
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 28, 2026

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
Published on: January 19, 2019
1Centre for Statistics and Stochastic Modelling, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Sussex, UK. m.broom@sussex.ac.uk
Abstract:
Animals who live in groups need to divide available resources amongst themselves. This is often achieved by means of a dominance hierarchy, where dominant individuals obtain a larger share of the resources than subordinate individuals. This paper introduces a model of dominance hierarchy formation using a multi-player extension of the classical Hawk-Dove game. Animals play non-independent pairwise games in a Swiss tournament which pairs opponents against those which have performed equally well in the conflict so far, for a fixed number of rounds. Resources are divided according to the number of contests won. The model, and its emergent properties, are discussed in the context of experimental observations.
Related Concept Videos
Incomplete Dominance
Relationship Formation
Social Foundations of Self I: Play and Game
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...
Collisions in Multiple Dimensions: Problem Solving
A small car of mass 1,200 kg traveling east at 60 km/h collides at an intersection with a truck of mass 3,000 kg traveling due north at 40 km/h. The two vehicles are locked together. What is the...
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other
