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You have probably heard the terms alpha and beta applied to social standing. Alpha individuals are dominant and take charge, while beta individuals are weak and ineffectual.
Well, now there’s a new term on the block. Alpha males, move aside, and get ready for the sigma male!
Okay, there’s no scientific literature about sigma males because this did not come from science. This came from the pick-up artist community. The letter sigma is far down the alphabet from alpha and beta (which were mainly used as level designators). It’s like hearing that males are either a 1 (popular) or a 2 (unpopular), and declaring that you are a 23. Is that good? Bad?
But the term is just another “make it cooler” description of a loner. Perhaps we should look at loners in nature to determine their fate.
According to my perspective, sigma male is considered the rarest of the personality archetypes, but it’s actually impossible to know for sure. Because these archetypes haven’t been studied extensively, there’s no real data backing up the claim that they are rare. However, finding someone with all of the aforementioned sigma male traits probably is a rare occurrence because most human beings fail to meet at least one of the criteria listed.
The truth is that most of us have a natural archetype. It’s our default setting. While we can cultivate the traits of a sigma man, it’s unlikely that we can just switch categories purely because we decide we like it. Personality doesn’t change, but behaviors can be altered.
Your default personality archetype is unlikely to change over your lifespan, but that doesn’t mean you can’t nurture the behaviors of any archetype you admire.
The sigma male and alpha male share many similar traits, but there are key differences.
I hope this article has provided some insight into the rarest and coolest personality type and how to spot it in a person, namely Sigma.