Selective attention, processing, and memory related to RHP-relevant variables in humans

Competition for limited resources is a recurring feature of life on earth. Natural selection favored mechanisms that enabled organisms to successfully navigate resource contests. Understanding the mechanisms underpinning this ability is integral for explaining human behavior during conflict. In this dissertation, literature on the bases of human power is reviewed, and an ethological approach to the bases of power is proposed. This is a framework where the resource holding potential (RHP), or the ability of an organism to prevail in a resource contest, is based on three ecologically valid variables, height, coalitional support, and skills. Empirical research is presented that supports selective attention to, memory for, and processing of these variables. In addition, upregulation of these cognitive processes given competitive context is explored. Results demonstrate increased selective attention for high RHP individuals, selective memory for high levels of RHP-relevant variables, and the predicted pattern of RHP-judgments. In addition, the importance of height with respect to the RHP-judgments was upregulated in a competitive context. Implications and extensions are discussed, as well as limitations of the current endeavor and future directions.