Jeff Snyder: UCLA

In general, women in the U.S. appear to prefer prestigious men to dominant men under most circumstances. However, some women select domineering men as long-term intimate partners – sometimes at a high cost to themselves. Such women are likely sensitive to their self-perceived vulnerability to danger, and hence may select domineering men when the benefits of the protection that such men can provide outweigh the costs that they may inflict on their partners. Evidence suggests that women prefer formidable, domineering, and aggressive men when they also report relatively higher fear of crime. This effect appears to be independent of socio-economic status and does not appear to be better explained by a promiscuous socio-sexual orientation or life history variables such as father absence. In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that while women recognize at a general level that pair-bonding with aggressive and formidable men can be costly, women in such relationships do not report that their partners are domineering or coercive with them. This latter phenomenon may be the result of self-deception, allowing women to discount the costs of pair-bonding with such men.