A "pecking order" is a subject that many a psychologist and sociologist has delved into.
I have personally spent much time in the study, informally, of this subject; on the many facets, causes and effects, from a human and animal perspective and I have garnered enough evidence to form conclusions and be able to write a thesis.
The main conclusion that I have come to is that there are those who don't like pecking and will sacrifice whatever to keep from being pecked. Those are the followers of a follower/leader ideology.
If you'd like to know more, let me know.....
Best wishes,
Scott
PS.
I'd like to be maybe the first to welcome you to Tnet!
You have obviously found your way to the best thread on this site---Timberwolf. Hope you stay and get into all of the topics on the greatest Treasure site on the internet!
EDIT
OOPS! My bad. I thought this was posted on Timberwolf's Personal Pages. My Bad...
OK, move on, nothing to see here....