The present thesis presents a body of research examining collectivistic (vs. individualistic) tendencies in status hierarchies. The literature on natural hierarchies (social class, gender and ethnicity) shows that individualistic tendencies are conspicuous in high-status groups, whereas collectivistic tendencies are prominent in low-status groups. These status differences are assumed to stem from specific socialization processes that occur in high-status and in low-status groups. This thesis extends this perspective by proposing a mere status hypothesis which states that socialization processes are sufficient but not necessary to predict the status discrepancy on collectivistic (vs. individualistic) tendencies. It is argued that the mere asymmetry on a valued dimension between the ingroup and a relevant outgroup would drive collectivistic or individualistic tendencies depending on the ingroup status. A pilot study and sixteen studies tested this hypothesis and explored the boundary conditions in which status differences on collectivistic (vs. individualistic) tendencies are observed.