The Cardassian hierarchical instinct is one of the key traits that has shaped any incarnation of Cardassian society, but one of the most misunderstood by species that do not possess its like. While humans most often compare it to the pack instinct possessed by Earth's canines (dogs, wolves, and so on), a Cardassian's thoughts and emotions are the ultimate arbiters of his or her actions, making it difficult to assign hard-and-fast rules to Cardassian behavior as one might to non-sentient species possessing similar instincts (or, for that matter, species whose instincts are so strong that they override rational thought). (Star Trek: Sigils and Unions)