ABSTRACT
Up to this point we have been investigating the historical evolution of society-wide hierarchies. But many hierarchies are of more limited scope. They entail networks bounded in their extent and circumscribed in their membership. Sometimes called organizations, and at other times institutions, when individuals find themselves in these groups, their ranking systems can be as salient as those of greater size. Indeed, in the modern world, most individuals belong to a plethora of organizations or, at minimum, are required to interact with a variety of them. They, therefore, find it necessary to orient themselves within a multitude of hierarchical structures, many of which are grounded in divergent tests of strength. Moreover, in some of these they may rank toward the top, whereas in others they are located at the bottom. Although this dissonance can be disorienting, they have no choice but to cope with the vagaries of contradictory placements.
