So you have all heard the terms. Some people love it. Some people mock it. "Oh Alpha guy, big tough loser hehe" or such. I want to clarify some of these things in nice detail. And no, it's a big more detailed than Alpha/Beta.
These aren't magic, detailed terms, but rather describe male socio sexual traits... basically, men have a pack behavior. It relates to their behavior both to other men, and women. So without further explanation, let's dive in.
The Alpha
The Master Chief, from Halo, is a great example of an Alpha through his games. He is extremely confident, to the point of near insanity. He's self assured, a leader that becomes an icon. He inspires men to follow him into near suicidal battles, and in Halo 4 when an Admiral threatens the safety of his dearest friend, Cortana, he has no problem defying military command to protect her. Meanwhile, the mission of protecting humanity matters more than anything else.
Alphas can be polished or they can be rougher. They can be brash and vulgar like a Donald Trump, or they can be smooth and polished and polite. However they share the same traits--they are confidant, leaders who both want and get followers of both sexes, and are men devoted to a mission. Mistakes are made sometimes, but they usually just sigh, make a mental note of what not to do, and keep moving forward towards the goal.
Women love Alphas, but too often end up cheated on or dumped once the Alpha is bored after a torrid affair or a one night stand.
The Beta
Tim Drake, the beta, the right hand man. He is pretty confident, very capable, and highly loyal. He works towards the mission and speaks up whenever he feels the need, sometimes challenging his leader.
Commonly the Beta is derided in online circles, when everything is an Alpha/Beta dichotomy. When broken down in precise terms, the Beta isn't bad in the least. He's the loyal right hand of the Alpha. He's not as confident on his own, but in a team he is a comrade worth his weight in gold and will fight hard alongside the team leader. Mistakes do happen, and he tends to beat himself up and feel awful. When dealing with women, he doesn't have the swooning luck of the Alpha (who probably has three hot girls following him around) but the Beta fairs alright and tries to treat women with decency. As a partner he isn't as exciting as an Alpha, but his loyalty and the occasional great moment help balance that.
The Gamma
The miserable cretin of a man is a perfect example of a Gamma, the Riddler. He does have some achievements--he is a noteworthy figure in crime and has both a gang and later a gang of robots he invented... or bought? I don't know. Why is he a Gamma?
Supreme arrogance. He's not confident in himself--he spends every minute gloating about his own supposed intelligence and insulting others... while doing his best to remain at a safe distance and take no risks. He is constantly beaten by Batman and Catwoman, yet remains oh so sure and proclaiming his own superiority and victory. The Alpha can make a mistake, sigh, and keep moving forward while making a note not to make said blunder again. The Beta will feel bad for days, but do his best to live and learn. The Gamma? The Gamma has never made a mistake. Ever. Or at least he wants to believe that and make you believe it.
A Gamma is the sort of man that would be debating with you about an issue, insult your intelligence, demand a source, then proclaim it's not a peer reviewed source... oh wait you provided one? Well it's from a lousy university. Wait it's from a good one? Well you got a technical aspect of that wrong or misused a word, so you lose. It is impossible for him to lose because every time you thought you won, you actually lost because he found some tiny point to proclaim victory over, real or imagined. This is the sort of loser that would get banned from a blog or website... so he would immediately make a new profile to come back and insult the person two minutes later and claim it was hilarious he was blocked.
The Sigma
Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell is a complete videogame Sigma. Throughout the games he isn't much of a team player--mostly working alone with very little support. Not a leader, with only a few valued friends. In the early games, you are given choices to defy orders occasionally. In "Double Agent" you can literally choose to let several American cities be nuked. In "Conviction" a betrayed Sam Fisher angrily ends up in Third Echelon--the government agency he formerly fought for, and before he leaves the bodycount is extremely high. He saves the President, and then in one ending his former comrade, Anna Grimsdottor, pleads with him to come back to Third Echelon and help her, saying she doesn't know who else she can trust. He simply replies, "Trust. Funny you should say that. Goodbye Grim."
This guy is quite similar to an Alpha, with one key difference... he isn't a team player, and he's not out in the open. He's confident with good reason, bold, but entirely does his own thing.
Most Helpful Opinions