1Up, 1Down, and peer (Theory)

After observeing some things in the last few weeks i have formed a theory about interactionary dynamics and how we contrast status or your level of alphaness compared to someone else. The theory is called "1Up, 1Down, and Peer Theory".

The basic concept behind my theory is that there is a reason in some cases, as to why you either seem to be in a more alpha position then another person, or they more so then you, or in less common instances to be peers (equally alpha). Now this may seem obvious but its really not, alot of people seem confused as to why this one person seems to be so alpha and why they cant compete or why some other person seems so beta compared to themselves.

Now there is a combination of things that can make you alpha, or someone more so then you...but what my theory looks at is direct causes of this.

Ive come up with a simple gradeing system for where you stand with someone.

The 3 aspects;

1Up - What do i mean...when you have a "1Up" on someone you have the upper hand, your in a power position compared to them. If you can grade yourself as a 1Up with someone your the alpha and its obvious. however you may be asking how you got here?

In some cases this can be due to circumstance. Lets say the person had a bad day, a negative interaction before yours, owes you something, works for you, did something wrong, etc.

You have a 1Up on these people because of something outside of how you act with them. Noticing these things will help you setup a alpha frame with them for the long term. Im not saying dig into them because they had a bad day, but maybe give them tough love advice. Or also one thing some people have trouble with, if they did something wrong put them on the spot about it...dont let it slide.

1Down - Alternately to 1Up, "1Down" referres to someone else haveing the upperhand. They have a power over you that is out of your hands.

Good examples of the causes of this can be, you did something wrong, your younger, not as versed in a proffession or hobby, owe them something, had a bad day, had a negative interaction right before, they are your boss, your parents, etc.

These are good examples of how negative circumstances for you are then capitalized on by others to maintain power over your interactions. Obviously your boss is alpha to you, because social structure dictates you do what they say, some people will take advantage of this. A collegue may asert themselves as alpha over you because they feel more experience has entitled them to such. A friend may even take advantage of the fact you had a bad day and arent feeling confident to take the chance to AMOG you.

Peer - This is not as common as its human nature to try and be dominent or submissive, but this is simply when 2 people see each other as equals. They dont fight or struggle for power. This is basically the outcome of a unspoken agreement that they are on a level plain.


As you can see little of the above is really directly in your control or in some cases is there much you can do (your parents wil always be your parents)...however the point of this theory is to be able to capitalize on the 1Up scenarios in a ethical and moral way to establish yourself.

For instance, the difference between how you would use this theory and how someone else would can be seen here...

Someone has a bad day...

Someone else may take this as an oppurtunity to AMOG them, make fun of them, try and get them drunk (putting them in a situation to make them look like an ass), manipulate them etc.

We would use this as an oppurtunity to give them straight up advice, cheer them up, incorporate them into social interactions, etc.

Both ways could make you alpha to that person in the long run, but one way is morally acceptable and the other isnt.

**Note: You can generally tell when someone has the 1Up on you, or had it. If you start to use more common methods for increasing your status and lowering thiers (AMOG/counter AMOG, Negs, story telling etc...) they will try and hold something against you, usually publiclly.

This is where the importance of seeing you 1Up oppurtunities come in handy, because as soon as you take advantage of them you can counteract what they had on you.

Lets say for instance they know something embarassing about you, like a time years ago that you got drunk and made a fool of yourself. Now of course at the time they probably egged your drinking on and encouraged you to either get drunk or do stupid things. Now they can use this against you as leverage.

They may bring this up in front of people when you start to threaten thier status. You can use normal counter AMOG techniques but it will not be as effective as combining these techniques with your own 1Up.

Now lets say that after the event that they are using they had a bad day and you discouraged them from getting trashed, gave them a tough love talk, then brought them out to hang out with some friends and cheer them up.

If you did the above they will be less likely to ever mention the negative period you went through, and if they do using counter AMOG tactics on top of this will help, especially if you can somehow incorprate the two.

In anycase just some ideas.