The original theory of alpha males came from the study of captive animals and used most popularly to describe wolf packs and chimpanzee hierarchy. [1]
After these animal studies people began to to see how the alpha male principles could be applied to human males personality traits. People could see many of the same power tendencies in the most successful men that were seen in pack leaders and dominant males in animal groups.
The idea of a human male social hierarchy was expanded to explain the idea of the beta male in Neil Strauss’ book “The Game.”
In popular culture the hierarchy of male personality types has now grown to seven. These were developed organically to include a wider umbrella to capture most men into a category to better understand their own tendencies.
What are the 7 types of males?
Here are the seven most popular male personality types identified:
- Alpha male
- Sigma male
- Zeta male
- Beta male
- Gamma male
- Omega male
- Delta male
1. Alpha Male
Alpha males biggest defining characteristic is confidence in their self and in their leadership of other people. They tend to be attractive to others, outgoing, and charismatic. Alphas like to be in charge of groups and rise naturally to positions of power.
Alpha males tend to be in management positions, be executives, have high ranking military careers, and become politicians.
Alpha males represent about 70% of all senior executives. [2]
Alpha males tend to rise to the top of social hierarchies as that is where they want to be.
Top alpha males tend to be rich CEOs.
2. Sigma Male
Sigma males tend to be clever and cunning and play outside the system itself to get what they want in life. They are excellent with persuasion and thinking outside the box. Their biggest difference with alpha males is that they don’t seek approval from others and don’t care what others think about them.
Sigma males don’t care about the rules and tend to be loners. They tend to have their own internal compass and play by their own rules. They can be happy even when they are alone.
Sigma males are very calculated and thoughtful with their actions and speech.
He is not at the top of any social hierarchy because he has no interest in them.
Top sigma males tend to be rich entrepreneurs.
3. Zeta Male
Zeta males are independent thinkers and stay true to their self and don’t change for society. They know who they are on a deep level and have consistent actions and an internally driven mindset in all situations. They stay true to their self and not drawn into movements or groupthink.
They are not distracted by the opinions of others or trying to fit it. They are authentic because they see no need to pretend to be something they’re not.
They create their own rules and standards and live by them, even if they are outside the societal norms. They despise being told what to do and want to live life on their own terms.
They have no problem having relationships with equals as power is not a driver for them. They don’t seek power they seek freedom and independence. They feel that men and women are equals.
They don’t seek power in social situations they prefer to question and disrupt social norms.
They don’t ask people to change for them and they won’t change for others.
The operate outside any social hierarchy and have no interest in power over or leadership of others.
Top zeta males tend to be rich traders.
4. Beta Male
Beta males are friendly and respect others. They have great social skills and people tend to like them for their laid back approach to life. They tend to be open and kind to others as they seek to be liked and appreciated. They have a high social intelligence for interpersonal relationships.
Beta males are reserved and some can be shy and don’t like to share their opinions publicly because they don’t like negativity and conflict.
Beta males are very loyal and a great friend to have. They make the best employees because of their integrity. Beta males can be great family men as they will do anything for their wife and children and can make them their number one priority in life.
They value people over money or power. They have a bad reputation not from their own actions but because others will take advantage of their kindness and generosity.
Top beta males tend to make the best employees and have great careers.
5. Gamma Male
Gamma males are adventurous and interesting personalities. They seek fulfillment in life above all other pursuits. They are the men that love going on trips, travelling to exotic places, moving around a lot, and trying many different lifestyles.
They are eager to live life to the fullest by trying new things and experiencing life. They love people, have many close relationships, and seek to be loved by all.
They believe in quickly converting money into experiences and living life to the fullest every day. They are very self-aware and empathetic for others feelings.
People, relationships, feelings, and having fun are their top priorities. They tend to be well liked and the life of the party.
Top gamma males have the most fun and interesting lives along with having the most friends.
6. Omega Male
The omega male is self-assured and isn’t even aware of popularity contests. The omega male will have a few close friends but his confidence is self-generated and comes from within.
Omega males tend to not have much social awareness but are great at self-care. They don’t care about external feedback or being judged by others.
Omega males are self-motivated and driven from within to accomplish what they want in life. They have no need for external motivation from others. They tend to be highly intelligent and do things for their own intrinsic value and have no need for external approval or validation from others.
They are very focused on intelligence and learning. Some omega males fit the nerd archetype with a strong natural pull to intellectual pursuits like reading, building models, coding, and technology.
The omega males lack of caring about social validation or judgement from others frees him to do whatever he wants.
Top omega males tend to be the successful artists, performers, and inventors.
7. Delta Male
Delta males are very reserved and tend to be quiet and self-reflective. This is the one male personality type that tends to not be naturally occurring but caused by some life event that led the man to retreat from the world and back within himself. They’re the most likely personality type to move up, down, or out of the social hierarchy.
- These are the men who primarily get the real work done in the world.
- Delta males take pride in their skills and competence.
- They don’t want to lead anyone.
- They have no desire to please the alpha male.
- They want respect.
- They’re just successful enough with women to raise families and have children.[3]
He’s relatively easy to please, and he takes pride in his role. They tend to be the “average joe” in life and for whatever reason just wanted a quiet, normal, and ordinary life. Many are happy with a focus on their family and hobbies. However, some delta males feel unfilled as they get older and start wanting to do something big to leave their mark on the world.
Delta males can require people to prove their self through time and actions before trusting them completely.[5]
A delta male tends to be someone without an authoritative position or role in society or a group hierarchy.[6]
Delta males are the ones the world could not run without.
Top delta males can be the happiest people when they achieve the balanced simple life they desire.