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The implicit cultural rules for status hierarchies create, as a result of the structure of shared expectations that they give rise to, a modest incentive system for willingly deference to those the group deems “better” and more valuable to the collective effort.  When the low status person defers, he or she appears to endorse the group’s shared expectations for whom and what is perceived to be validly “better.”  By so doing the deferrer appears to the group to be “reasonable” and competent enough to recognize what is “better.”  The group responds by granting the deferrer a modicum of respect and approval: the dignity of being seen as “reasonable.”  This respect reaction acts as an incentive system that tempts the low status person to stay involved in the group’s endeavor despite the personal cost.  Although this argument may seem controversial, I present four empirical tests that support it. 

Part of the Reitman DeGrange Memorial Lecture Series.