?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Selecting+dominants+and+subordinates+at+conflict+outcome+can+confound+the+effects+of+prior+dominance+or+subordination+experience&rft.creator=B%C3%A9gin%2C+Jean&rft.creator=Beaugrand%2C+Jacques+P.&rft.creator=Zayan%2C+Ren%C3%A9&rft.subject=Animal+Behavior&rft.subject=Ethology&rft.subject=Comparative+Psychology&rft.description=Individuals+with+a+previous+experience+of+dominance+are+likely+to+be+dominants+in+further+encounters.+To+test+this+effect%2C+individuals+with+a+previous+experience+of+dominance+are+used+for+the+experiments.+One+way+to+obtain+such+individuals+is+to+let+opponents+%C2%ABself-select%C2%BB%3A+encounters+between+pairs+of+more+or+less+equivalent+opponents+are+staged+and+one+selects+ex+post+facto+the+dominant+and+subordinate+from+the+ensuing+conflict.+This+paper+formally+shows+that+the+selection+of+dominant+and+subordinate+animals+modifies+the+dominance+probability+functions+of+the+two+corresponding+sub-samples+of+animals.+As+a+result%2C+the+propensity+of+previous+winners+to+win+again+and+of+previous+losers+to+repeat+their+loss+can+be+attributed+to+this+artefact+rather+than+to+prior+social+experience.+A+simulation+confirms+the+results+of+the+theoretical+analysis.+This+result+has+serious+methodological+implications.+When+one+relies+solely+on+selection+to+obtain+winners+and+losers%2C+equiprobability+is+no+longer+the+appropriate+null+hypothesis+against+which+prior+social+experience+effects+have+to+be+tested.+To+clearly+demonstrate+the+effect+of+dominance+experience%2C+one+must+show+that+prior+winners+defeat+neutral+opponents+in+at+least+of+all+cases%3B+reciprocally%2C+to+show+that+prior+subordinate+experience+plays+a+role%2C+prior+losers+must+win+in+less+than+of+all+fights+against+neutral+opponents%3B+finally%2C+to+conclude+that+a+combined+effect+of+the+two+kinds+of+prior+experience+is+in+operation%2C+one+must+obtain+that+prior+winners+defeat+prior+losers+in+more+than+83%25+of+all+planned+conflicts.+The+present+result+does+not+imply+that+experience+effects+are+not+at+work+when+the+selection+procedure+is+used%2C+but+that+the+procedure+used+to+show+their+effects+is+inadequate+because+effects+of+experience+on+a+subsequent+encounter+are+confounded+with+those+introduced+by+statistical+selection%0A%0A&rft.publisher=Elsevier&rft.date=1996&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1959%2F3%2Fbegin-beaugrand-zayan-1996.pdf&rft.identifier=++B%C3%A9gin%2C+Jean+and+Beaugrand%2C+Jacques+P.+and+Zayan%2C+Ren%C3%A9++(1996)+Selecting+dominants+and+subordinates+at+conflict+outcome+can+confound+the+effects+of+prior+dominance+or+subordination+experience.++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1959%2F