ScienceDaily (Dec. 23, 2008) — A new study in the journal Personal Relationships reveals that women prefer mates who are recognized by their peers for their skills, abilities, and achievements, while not preferring men who use coercive tactics to subordinate their rivals. Indeed, women found dominance strategies of the latter type to be attractive primarily when men used them in the context of male-male athletic competitions.

Jeffrey K. Snyder, Lee A. Kirkpatrick, and H. Clark Barrett conducted three studies with college women at two U.S. universities. Participants evaluated hypothetical potential mates described in written vignettes. The studies were designed to examine the respective effects of men’s dominance and prestige on women’s assessments of men.

Women are sensitive to the context in which men display domineering behaviors when they evaluate men as potential mates. For example, the traits and behaviors that women found attractive in athletic competitions were unattractive to women when men displayed the same traits and behaviors in interpersonal contexts. Notably, when considering prospective partners for long-term relationships, women’s preferences for dominance decrease, and their preferences for prestige increase.

“These findings directly contradict the dating advice of some pop psychologists who advise men to be aggressive in their social interactions. Women most likely avoid dominant men as long-term romantic partners because a dominant man may also be domineering in the household.” the authors conclude.

Journal reference:

1. Jeffrey K. Snyder, Lee A. Kirkpatrick, H. Clark Barrett. The dominance dilemma: Do women really prefer dominant mates? Personal Relationships, 2008; 15 (4): 425 DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2008.00208.x

Related Stories

Gay Men Prefer Masculine-faced Men, Study Suggests (Oct. 31, 2009) — New research suggests that regardless of sexual orientation, men prefer sexual dimorphism in faces. This study finds that gay men preferred the most masculine-faced men, while straight men preferred ...  > read more

Male Rivalry Increases When Females At Most Fertile, Say Researchers (Apr. 26, 2006) — Men become more jealous of dominant males when their female partner is near ovulation, researchers at the University of Liverpool have ...  > read more

Rating Attractiveness: Consensus Among Men, Not Women, Study Finds (June 27, 2009) — Hot or not? Men agree on the answer. Women don't. There is much more consensus among men about whom they find attractive than there is among women, according to a new ...  > read more

Estrogen Fuels Female Need For Power And Control (May 23, 2008) — New psychology research suggests that the sex hormone estrogen may be for women what testosterone is for men: The fuel of power. Until recently, some researchers doubted whether women had a ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Men Are From Mars