Attraktivität und Dominanz

Hier noch ein paar Studien zur Attraktivität.

Hier eine etwas ältere Studie über Attraktivität und Horrorfilme:

Exposed 36 male and 36 female undergraduates to a horror movie in the presence of a same-age, opposite-gender companion of low or high initial appeal who expressed mastery, affective indifference, or distress. Measures were obtained for the Ss‘ affective reactions to the movie, the companion’s physical appeal, the companion’s personality traits, the companion’s desirability as a working partner, and the Ss‘ tendency to acquiesce to erroneous contentions on the part of the companion. We found that men enjoyed the movie most in the company of a distressed woman and least in the company of a mastering woman. Women, in contrast, enjoyed the movie most in the company of a mastering man and least in the company of a distressed man. Mastery did not enhance the female companions‘ physical appeal. However, it significantly enhanced that of the low-appeal male companion. The display of distress in response to horror reduced the desirability of both male and female companions as working mates. In working together, female Ss showed a clear tendency to acquiesce to assertions by their male companions who had shown mastery of horror. Findings are consistent with predictions from a gender-role socialization model of affect. (24 ref)

Quelle: Effects of an opposite-gender companion’s affect to horror on distress, delight, and attraction.

Männer mochten also den Film mehr, wenn die Frauen Angst zeigten und Frauen mochten den Film mehr, wenn der Mann keine Angst zeigte. Und Frauen fanden die Männer, die keine Angst zeigten attraktiver. Schwache Männer kommen eben bei den meisten Frauen nicht gut an.

Und hier eine Studie zu sozialen Verhalten und Dominanz:

Three multimethod studies (total N = 348) probed the hypothesis that women’s attraction to men would be influenced by male prosocial orientation. In Study 1, prosocial men were rated as more physically and sexually attractive, socially desirable, and desirable as dates than were nonprosocial men. Dominant men were no more attractive than low-dominance men, and male dominance did not interact with male prosocial orientation in eliciting attraction from women. In Study 2, prosocial orientation was manipulated to avoid „personalism,“ but still affected attraction. Across all measures attraction was an interactive function of dominance and prosocial tendencies. Dominance alone did not increase any form of attraction measured. In Study 3, male prosocial tendencies and dominance interacted to affect women’s attraction to men. Results are discussed in terms of the place of altruism and dominance in evolutionary approaches to human interpersonal attraction.

Quelle: Dominance, prosocial orientation, and female preferences: Do nice guys really finish last?

Hier wäre es interessant die Formen der Dominanz näher zu überprüfen. Interessant ist aber, dass Dominanz mit prosozialen Verhalten besonders gut ankommt. Reine Dominanz kann eben schnell aggressiv und zu abgehoben werden.

Eine ältere Studie sieht Dominanz positiver:

Four experiments examined the relation between behavioral expressions of dominance and the heterosexual attractiveness of males and females. Predictions concerning the relation between dominance and heterosexual attraction were derived from a consideration of sex role norms and from the comparative biological literature. All four experiments indicated an interaction between dominance and sex of target. Dominance behavior increased the attractiveness of males, but had no effect on the attractiveness of females. The third study indicated that the effect did not depend on the sex of the rater or on the sex of those with whom the dominant target interacted. The fourth study showed that the effect was specific to dominance as an independent variable and did not occur for related constructs (aggressive or domineering). This study also found that manipulated dominance enhanced only a male’s sexual attractiveness and not his general likability. The results were discussed in terms of potential biological and cultural causal mechanisms

Quelle: Dominance and heterosexual attraction.

Also eine recht deutliche Bestätigung der Dominanz als Attraktivitätsmerkmal für Männern.

Auch beim Geruch zeigen sich entsprechende Übereinstimmungen, jedenfalls zu den passenden Zeiten des Zyklus:

Body odour may provide significant cues about a potential sexual partner’s genetic quality, reproductive status and health. In animals, a key trait in a female’s choice of sexual partner is male dominance but, to date, this has not been examined in humans. Here, we show that women in the fertile phase of their cycle prefer body odour of males who score high on a questionnaire-based dominance scale (international personality items pool). In accordance with the theory of mixed mating strategies, this preference varies with relationship status, being much stronger in fertile women in stable relationships than in fertile single women.

Quelle: Women’s preference for dominant male odour: effects of menstrual cycle and relationship status

Und dominant aussehende männliche Teenager haben auch eher Sex:

Many theorists suggest that dominant males leave more offspring than submissive males, but this seems not to be true among humans. Possibly dominant human males have more copulatory opportunity, but they or their partners prevent conception. Teenage boys were judged to look either dominant or submissive in facial appearance. They were also rated on attractiveness and pubertal development. Dominant looking boys are more likely to report coital opportunity than submissive looking boys, net of attractiveness and pubertal development.

Quelle: Dominant looking male teenagers copulate earlier

Dominant aussehende Jungen berichten also von mehr Gelegenheiten zum Sex. Was dafür spricht, dass sie als attraktiver wahrgenommen werden.

Zudem werden hübsche Frauen und dominante Männer als größere Gefahr eingeschätzt, wenn sie etwas mit dem Partner zu tun haben.

An experimental study examined the effects of exposure to physically attractive and dominant same-sex individuals on self-assessments. Consistent with prior findings on mate selection, it was predicted that women’s self-assessments of their mate value would be adversely affected by exposure to highly physically attractive women and would be relatively unaffected by exposure to socially dominant women. Conversely, men’s self-assessments of their mate value were expected to be more affected by the social dominance than by the physical attractiveness of the men to whom they were exposed. Findings for self-assessed judgments of desirability as a marriage partner were in line with hypotheses. Results fit with earlier findings suggesting that such effects may be caused by changes in the perceived population of competitors rather than direct changes in self-perceptions of physical appearance or dominance. Overall, findings are supportive of models assuming domain-specific rather than domain-general cognitive processes.

Quelle: Beauty, Dominance, and the Mating Game: Contrast Effects in Self-Assessment Reflect Gender Differences in Mate Selection

Die Einschätzung der Partner könnte insoweit einem reinen Klischee oder persönlicher Erfahrung entspringen. Aber auch die anderen Studien sprechen durchaus dafür, dass die Partner durchaus wissen, wann sie aufpassen müssen.

Eine andere Studie behandelt unter anderem die Wahrnehmung der Frauen selbst:

Past research finds evidence that college women prefer a romantic partner who is dominant more than one who is not dominant. However, this research failed to include a control condition in which neither dominant nor nondominant behaviors are described. Study 1 and Study 2 included such a control condition and found that describing men as either dominant or nondominant decreased the desirability of hypothetical dating and romantic partners for undergraduate women. When asked to describe their ideal partner in Study 3, very few women identified dominant as a desirable trait. However, several traits associated with dominance, such as assertiveness and confidence, were selected. The findings suggest that a simple dominant–nondominant dimension may not be very useful when predicting women’s mate preferences.

Quelle: Do Women Prefer Dominant Men? The Case of the Missing Control Condition

Das passt gut zu den weiteren Artikeln:

• Mögen Frauen Arschlöcher?
• Mögen Frauen Arschlöcher? II
• Wissen Frauen auf was sie bei Männern stehen?

Danach sind sich Frauen der Kriterien, nach denen sie Männer bewerten oft gar nicht so direkt bewusst. Da sie direkt auf diese ansprechen ist eine direkte Zuordnung auch gar nicht notwendig. Es erfolgt dann eine Übertragung auf als positiver wahrgenommene Merkmale abzustellen.

Bei einer weiteren Studie wurden allgemeine Attraktivitätsmerkmale bei Männern und Frauen überprüft:

The present study investigated mate preferences for five different levels of relationship involvement—marriage, serious relationship, falling in love, casual sex, and sexual fantasies–among individuals of 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 years of age. Consistent with an evolutionary perspective, men preferred mates who were higher in physical attractiveness than themselves, whereas women preferred mates who were higher in income, education, self–confidence, intelligence, dominance, and social position than themselves. The lower the level of relationship involvement, the lower were the preferred levels of education, physical attractiveness, and, particularly for males, preferred intelligence in comparison to oneself. For sexual fantasies, men and women preferred mates who were higher in physical attractiveness than those they preferred for real partners. There were few age differences in mate preferences, although older individuals set higher standards for a potential mate’s education.

Quelle: Age and Gender Differences in Mate Selection Criteria for Various Involvement Levels

Das reiht sich insoweit in die anderen Studien zu dem was die Geschlechter im Schnitt attraktiv finden. Studien finden immer wieder fest, dass man gewisse Attraktivitätsmerkmale über den Schnitt bei den Geschlechtern feststellen kann.

Eine weitere Studie bewertet auch das Interesse für eine Langzeitpartnerschaft:

Dominance is a key feature on which romantic partners are evaluated, yet there is no clear consensus on its definition. In Study 1 (N=305), the authors developed scales to measure three putatively distinct dimensions of dominance: social, financial, and physical. In Study 2 (N=308), the authors used their scales in a mate-selection paradigm and found that women perceived physical dominance to be related to both attractiveness and social dominance. For both sexes, attractiveness predicted desirability for a one-night stand, whereas attractiveness and agreeableness were predictors of desirability for a serious relationship. In Study 3 (N=124), the authors surveyed romantic partners in monogamous relationships and found that although aspects of a partner’s dominance-financial for women and social for men-played a bivariate role in relationship satisfaction, agreeableness was the strongest predictor of current and future relationship satisfaction and the only significant predictor of relationship dissolution.

Quelle: The big, the rich, and the powerful: physical, financial, and social dimensions of dominance in mating and attraction.

Frauen würden also mit dominanten Männern eher einen One-Night_Stand haben, bei einer Beziehung spielt insbesondere „finanzielle Dominanz“ eine Rolle, wichtiger ist aber, dass man sich gut versteht.