Selvom begrebet ofte forstås som en han der er især er dominerende ved brug af fysisk magt overfor konkurrenter, viser studier af dominanshierarkier i f.eks. primater, herunder chimpanser, at alfahanner også ofte bruger pro-social adfærd, f.eks. at dele mad, til at blive vellidte og dermed opnå deres status.<ref>, P.H., Little, T.D. and Card, N.A., 2008. The myth of the alpha male: A new look at dominance-related beliefs and behaviors among adolescent males and females. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32(1), pp.76-88.</ref> <ref> Nishida, T., Hasegawa, T., Hayaki, H., Takahata, Y. and Uehara, S., 1992. Meat-sharing as a coalition strategy by an alpha male chimpanzee. Topics in primatology, 1, pp.159-174.</ref><ref>Foster, M.W., Gilby, I.C., Murray, C.M., Johnson, A., Wroblewski, E.E. and Pusey, A.E., 2009. Alpha male chimpanzee grooming patterns: implications for dominance “style”. American Journal of Primatology: Official Journal of the American Society of Primatologists, 71(2), pp.136-144.</ref>
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