A new study illuminates why women can find combativeness attractive.
It's
a question often asked when a man mistreats a woman: What does she see in him?
A
study out of Germany
Research
has established that, generally speaking, women must choose between between two
types of men: dads and cads. On the one hand, dads are typically more
commitment-oriented, warm, faithful, and reliable. Yet they are usually less
handsome, charismatic,
and dominant than his caddish counterparts. On the other hand, cads are sexier,
with their narrow eyes and strong jaws — but they also tend to be flashy and
exploitatative of others. Even worse, these masculine men often embody the Dark
Triad, a personality constellation that encompasses Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism.
So, what in the world is appealing about these objectionable individuals? Quite
simply, they possess high-quality genes that they will pass down to their future children. In turn, the thinking
goes, women will maximize their reproductive success by choosing a macho man as
a short-term mate for his genes, and a less masculine man with a warmer personality
for a long-term, invested partner.
However,
ovulation can make the choice between dads and cads particularly challenging.
Research has revealed that during ovulation, women show a weakness for
masculine men with high-quality genes. Studies consistently show that fertile
women prefer men who display macho facial features and social dominance. In
other words, they like bad boys. Building on these findings, Gilda Biebel of
the University of
Konstanz
Aggressive
behavior comes in two forms. The first is “reactive–impulsive,” which are responses to external threats. The second is
“appetitive-aggressive,” which is internally motivated. It is derived from the
intrinsic pleasure that is associated with violence, hunting, and combat. In
keeping with studies that have found women's preferences for “bad boys” and
socially dominant men for short-term mating, the investigators wondered if
appetitive aggressiveness might also be an advertisement of good genes. They
also speculated that women may be drawn to truculent men during ovulation, when
the interest in short-term mating for good genes is at its peak.
In
order to test whether fertile women would show a greater preference for warrior
types, Biebel and her team conducted an online survey of 1212 German women. Participants read a
fictional scenario of a soldier named “Wilko” who had returned from fighting a
war in Afghanistan
What
did the researchers find? Women preferred aggressive men as short-term mates,
and particularly during ovulation. This finding builds on previous work
demonstrating that women find male characteristics such as dominance and
masculine facial features especially attractive when they are fertile. What's
more, this study shows that the male signals of genetic fitness are not just
physical, but behavioral as well. At the same time, it is important to underscore
that these men were preferred as short-term mates. Dominant men who derive
pleasure from being aggressive deliver scant relationship benefits because they
pose a threat to the family, show decreased parental investment, and have
affairs. Consequently, and as expected, the women in this study preferred less
aggressive men for long-term relationships.
What
can we learn from this study and related efforts? While it may be bewildering
why a woman would fall for the charms of a bellicose man, there's an underlying
logic that seems to explain at least part of it: She wants to extract his good
genes for posterity. The research also uncovers that the attraction to socially
dominant men isn't just psychological — it's undergirded by biology. So while
the appeal of an aggressive man may be confusing on an emotional level, an
evolutionary lens can bring these tangled motivations into clearer focus.
