Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping

by Robert M. Sapolsky

Final variable: if a male has lost a fight, what does he do next? Does he sulk by himself, groom someone, or beat someone up? Discouragingly, it turns out that the males who are most likely to go beat on someone—thus displaying displaced aggression—have lower glucocorticoid levels, again after rank is eliminated as a variable. This is true for both subordinate baboons and the high-ranking ones. Thus, after factoring out rank, lower basal glucocorticoid levels are found in males who are best at telling the difference between threatening and neutral interactions; who take the initiative if the situation clearly is threatening; who are best at telling whether they won or lost; and, in the latter case, who are most likely to make someone else pay for the defeat.