  Hickson Compact Groups (HCGs) constitute an interesting extreme in the range
of environments in which galaxies are located, as the space density of galaxies
in these small groups are otherwise only found in the centres of much larger
clusters. The work presented here uses Lick indices to make a comparison of
ages and chemical compositions of galaxies in HCGs with those in other
environments (clusters, loose groups and the field). The metallicity and
relative abundance of `$\alpha$-elements' show strong correlations with galaxy
age and central velocity dispersion, with similar trends found in all
environments. However, we show that the previously reported correlation between
$\alpha$-element abundance ratios and velocity dispersion disappears when a
full account is taken of the the abundance ratio pattern in the calibration
stars. This correlation is thus found to be an artifact of incomplete
calibration to the Lick system.
  Variations are seen in the ranges and average values of age, metallicity and
$\alpha$-element abundance ratios for galaxies in different environments. Age
distributions support the hierarchical formation prediction that field galaxies
are on average younger than their cluster counterparts. However, the ages of
HCG galaxies are shown to be more similar to those of cluster galaxies than
those in the field, contrary to the expectations of current hierarchical
models. A trend for lower velocity dispersion galaxies to be younger was also
seen. This is again inconsistent with hierarchical collapse models, but is
qualitatively consistent with the latest N-body-SPH models based on monolithic
collapse in which star formation continues for many Gyr in low mass halos.
