Overplacement

Biological Parallel

During salmon spawning runs, mid-ranked males position themselves as if higher status than their actual fighting success suggests, challenging dominants at rates inconsistent with their win records. This overplacement is strategic rather than delusional: hierarchies are imperfectly enforced, and males who 'act above their station' occasionally win unexpected victories when dominants are distracted or fatigued. Accurate self-placement means accepting your rank; inflated self-placement means continuously testing for hierarchy errors and weaknesses to exploit.