On 24 Aug 2009 at 14:17, kmorgan wrote: > I am looking for a citation that indicates the first use of the term > "alpha" to refer to the most dominant individual in a group. Anyone have > any ideas on this? > > I'll take replies off line. And thanks!:-)
As off-line replies spoil the fun and discourage others from joining in, I'll pretend I didn't notice that part of the request. The great Oxford English Dictionary (the OED) on-line gives the earliest use of the term "alpha male" as the dominant (male) individual in a group as occuring in an article in _Science_, June 5, 1954, p. 1179 as follows: "Such an animal is definitely an alpha male in the dominance hierarchy". Alas, the citation is incorrect, as there is no June 5 issue of Science, and no p. 1179 in 1954. There is a June 4, 1954 issue, but it does not include the term "alpha male". The OED's next citation is to a 1977 entry, which I didn't check. Searching all of _Science_ back to 1880 results in an earliest hit for "alpha male" to an article by U. Cowgill, "Visiting in Perodicticus", November 27, 1964, p. 1183. Cowgill discusses the behaviour of an animal called a potto, an African lemur, of which he says "The "alpha" male eats his banana, takes a walk, and visits the P. potto in the trunk". The quotes around alpha indicate that he is using the term in an unusual sense but as he does not define it, presumably he felt the usage was well- known to his readers. Later in the article he drops the quotes, as for example in this sentence. "It is interesting that the alpha male initiates the visiting". Curiously, Google News Archive turns up an earlier use of the term: "Clarke Gable epitomised Rhett Butler, the ultimate alpha male, in the screen version of Gone With The Wind". The source is given as Magnum Photos - HighBeam Research - Jan 1, 1960 Byline: Baz Bamigboye This suggests that the term originated in Hollywood. As it is again not defined, presumably it was already familiar to readers by that date. One possibility, I speculate, is that it entered the language as a result of Aldous Huxley (in _Brave New World_, 1932) using the term "alpha" to designate the genetically intellectually superior class of individuals in his science fiction dystopia. But current usage is that alpha refers not to intellectual ability but to dominance. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
