Here’s what it really means to be alpha like the wolf. As we’ll see, looking to wolves for inspiration for human conduct can actually be useful and inspiring, but only if you’ve got a correct conception for what that behavior consists of. The research it’s based on turned out to be hugely flawed.īelow, we’ll explore the myth and reality of the alpha wolf. Hence, the idea that to be an alpha male, you’ve got to take no prisoners, f*** s*** up each and every day, take what’s yours, and never say sorry. Popular culture soon took this conception of the alpha wolf, along with the whole alpha vs beta distinction, and applied it to humans - especially men. David Mech wrote a book called The Wolf, which expanded on Schenkel’s research and popularized the idea of alpha and beta wolves and the leader/subordinate social dynamic of wolf packs.īoth researchers described this dynamic as a competition for rank, with alphas being those who were domineering, aggressive, and violent, and used these qualities to fight off rivals to become the supreme leader of the pack. Schenkel observed that the wolves competed for status within their own sex, and that from these rivalries emerged a kind of “alpha pair” - a “lead wolf” that was the top male dog, and a “bitch” that was the top female dog. The idea of there being alpha (and beta) wolves originated from Rudolph Schenkel of the University of Basel in Switzerland, who studied a pack of wolves living at a zoo in the 1940s. You know, being a straight up alpha wolf. Superimposed on this image is invariably a quote in big bold lettering - some kind of edgy, muscular platitude about ignoring your haters, striking out on your own, and dominating everyone in sight. Scroll through some young guy’s Tumblr or Instagram feed and you’re bound to find a picture of a menacing-looking wolf with blood around its chops or a lone wolf howling at the moon.
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