Ein interessanter Artikel zu den Auswirkungen von Selbstbewußtsein auf die Begehrlichkeit einer Person:
The provision of information appears to be an important property of self-esteem as evidenced by previous research concerning the status-tracking and status-signaling models of self-esteem. The present studies examine whether there is an implicit theory of self-esteem that leads individuals to assume targets with higher levels of self-esteem possess more desirable characteristics than those with lower levels of self-esteem. Across 6 studies, targets with ostensibly higher levels of self-esteem were generally rated as more attractive and as more desirable relationship partners than those with lower levels of self-esteem. It is important to note, however, that this general trend did not consistently emerge for female targets. Rather, female targets with high self-esteem were often evaluated less positively than those with more moderate levels of self-esteem. The present findings are discussed in the context of an extended informational model of self-esteem consisting of both the status-tracking and status-signaling properties of self-esteem.
Ich vermute, die feministische Interpretation wäre einfach: In einem Patriarchat sind selbstbewußte Frauen eben nicht sexy, weil es gegen ihr Rollenbild verstößt und dieses so ausgeformt ist, dass Frauen klein gehalten werden.
Mich überzeugt eher eine evololutionsbiologische Betrachtung: Danach ist Selbstvertrauen eine Zeichen einer hohen Position oder guten Fähigkeiten (aus denen heraus Selbstvertrauen entsteht), was es bei Männern sexy macht. Zuviel Selbstvertrauen bei einer Frau bedeutet aber aus Sicht des Mannes, dass sie sich selbst einen sehr hohen Status zuweist und deswegen weniger zufrieden mit ihm sein wird / höhere Anfoderungen an ihn stellen wird und vielleicht bereits deswegen seine Werbekosten nutzlos investiert sind (oder noch schlimmer: Versorgungsleistungen in ein Kind eines anderen investiert werden).
Aus der Studie dazu:
The implicit theory of self-esteem is consistent with the idea that self-esteem may play a role in transferring information about social status between the individual and one’s social environment. The most widely studied informational model of self-esteem is the sociometer model developed by Leary and his colleagues (Leary and Baumeister, 2000; Leary and Downs, 1995). According to the sociometer model, self-esteem has a status-tracking property such that an individual’s self-esteem is dependent on his or her level of relational value. The sociometer model proposes that self-esteem is an evolutionary adaptation that allows individuals to monitor the degree to which they are valued by others (i.e., information is being conveyed from the social environment to the individual; Leary, 1999, 2005; Leary, Haupt, Strausser, and Chokel, 1998; Leary and MacDonald, 2003). According to the sociometer model, self-esteem is analogous to a gauge that alerts the individual to either gains in his or her relational value (accompanied by increases in self-esteem) or losses in one’s value (accompanied by decreases in self-esteem; Leary, 2004). Leary and Downs (1995) suggest that our level of self-esteem serves as an indicator of our current level of relational value in much the same way that the fuel gauge on the dashboard of our car provides us with information concerning how much fuel remains in our fuel tank. If our relational value decreases, then we should also experience a decrease in our state self-esteem that motivates us to engage in compensatory behaviors (e.g., being nicer to those in our social environment) in order to increase our relational value and, consequently, our self-esteem.
Hier wird das Verhältnis von Status und Selbstvertrauen angesprochen. Heute kann man beides einfacher von einander abkoppeln, aber in einer festen Gruppe von Menschen wird dies wesentlich schwieriger gewesen sein.
Die Studie weiter:
The exceptions to the general pattern appear to have different implications for women than for men. The first exception was that when men rated female targets, self-esteem had an impact on attractiveness ratings such that women with moderate self-esteem were perceived to be more desirable than those with low or high self-esteem. That is, moderate levels of self-esteem may be optimally attractive for women. One possible explanation for this pattern is that men may be somewhat intimidated by women with high self-esteem. The second exception was that women with high self-esteem did not receive more positive evaluations than women with moderate self-esteem on the dimensions of Attractiveness-Vitality and Overall Mate Value (Study 3). In contrast to the findings for men, this suggests that the avoidance of low self-esteem may be more important for women than the attainment of high levels of self-esteem. This may result in women being less selective than men with regard to the effect that a potential romantic partner may have on one’s self-esteem. That is, men may be looking for partners who enhance their self-esteem, whereas women may simply be trying to avoid partners who make them feel bad about themselves. The third exception for women was that those with high self-esteem were given lower ratings on the Warmth-Trustworthiness dimension than women with either low or moderate levels of self-esteem (Study 3). One implication of this finding is that women with high self-esteem may actually be perceived somewhat negatively on certain dimensions. This is consistent with the results of Zeigler-Hill and Myers (2009) which found that a subset of participants were less likely to consider voting for Hillary Clintons during the 2008 presidential primary contests if they believed she had high levels of self-esteem. Taken together, the present studies suggest that self-esteem may have different implications for the perception of men and women such that men with high levels of self-esteem are generally assumed to possess a range of desirable traits, whereas women with high self-esteem may tend to receive somewhat mixed evaluations.
Die Studie wirft einige Probleme für Frauen auf. Im Geschäftsleben kann zum einen erwartet werden, dass sie Selbstbewußtsein ausstrahlen. Gleichzeitig kann sie das wieder unattraktiver machen, was auch bei ihrer sonstigen Bewertung eine Rolle spielen kann. Es wäre interessant noch einmal eine weitere Studie zu sehen, die all diese Aspekte abdeckt.
Alles Evolution 