Pending a new post Kaj Sotala and I are planning to collaborate on, add this blog post to the list of sources for interesting claims about status. (Through HN.)

Item: "status is regulated through dopamine levels". This may be a reference to this study.

An interesting find (for me) was learning how the study measured status: they used the "Barratt Simplified Measure of Social Status" as well as the "Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support".

The former is clearly a measure of what I called social class in the above: it is a combination of family members' occupations ranked on a pre-established list of professions, plus subject's level of schooling. The latter is straightforwardly a subjective assessment of how strongly people around you support your goals.

(The blogger, apparently unaware of these instruments, confidently cautions: "please don’t confuse the notion of group status with cultural concepts of socio-economic status". Yet it is precisely the latter which underpin his claims regarding dopamine levels!)

Item: "this is one reason why people become self-conscious of being photographed: their status is being broadcast in a very real way."

Item: "In moments of active rivalry you must threaten your subordinates aggressively". This is the blogger quoting Johnstone who is himself excerpting from a book, The Human Zoo.

Item: "high status group members are required to stifle the expression of lower status group members".

Item: "A healthy concept of self-esteem will allow you to switch between high-status and low-status roles as necessary."