Effects of Dominance and Competence on Heterosexual Attraction

Abstract

To clarify previous findings concerning the relationship between physical dominance and heterosexual attraction, 40 unacquainted couples worked as partners on a problem-solving task. Couples performed the task with the male physically or verbally dominating his partner, and the couples were led to believe that their success on the task was markedly above or below average. Findings showed that females were more attracted to competent rather than incompetent partners (P <0.001), but that mode of dominance interacted with competence, with physically dominant and competent males liked most and physically dominant and incompetent partners liked least (P 0.05). The findings are interpreted in the context of social power and non-verbal behaviour and they re-emphasize the need to examine situational determinants of interpersonal attraction.