What is the main idea? 1. After a period of squabbling, domestic chickens sort themselves into a reasonably stable "pecking order." 2. Thereafter, when competition for food occurs, all hens defer to the dominant bird, all but
the dominant bird give way do the second, and so on. 3. Conflict is minimized because each bird
knows its place. 4. This process is an example of dominance hierarchy, a social arrangement in which
animals establish a rank for members of the social unit, thereby eventually reducing aggression. 5.
Dominance in male bighorn sheep is reflected in the size of their horns. 6. The larger the horn, the
higher in the hierarchy a male bighorn sheep will be. 7. Wolf packs are organized so that each sex
has a dominant or "alpha" individual to whom all others are subordinate.