Why do women prefer tough guys?

Figures of the seventh art with a reputation of ruffians like James Dean, Charlie Sheen or Mickey Rourke They obey the same profile: the charismatic man, with a conflictive, aggressive personality, with bomb-proof self-confidence; capable of anything. The classic tough guy.

An intriguing facet that is a common denominator in many people with this profile, is the idea that they are much more attractive. It could be a simple myth magnified by the mystique that these subjects give off, or it could be, indeed, a real trend.

Tough guys ('Dark triad') like more

Some men wonder why do they always make friends with kind and caring guyswhile going out and having relationships with complete jerks. Are we so different men and women?

This paradox has caused rivers of ink (and tears!) To flow, and although many have formulated theories to explain it, the causes of the increased attractiveness of tough guys have not been carefully studied. Fortunately, this year an investigation carried out at the University of Durham has seen the light that provides interesting data on this issue.

Male Traits: Tough Guys?

Being the human being a social animal, how is it possible that this personality type, in some antisocial way, is preserved on an evolutionary level? And above all, Why is it especially attractive?

A higher proportion of men than women fit the psychological profile known as dark triad or Dark triad. This personality profile is observed in people with outstanding narcissistic traits, from psychopathic tendency and Machiavellianism. This gives the subject a despotic attitude and a self-perception of superiority over others.

1. Narcissism

Research shows that narcissism occurs in many more men than womenregardless of the cultural background. It is a trait that is based on the excess of self-worth. These are individuals with an air of greatness, who consider themselves special and who demand preferential treatment from others. They get angry if their merits and talents are not recognized. Several studies suggest that narcissism is linked to occasional mating in men, since it is associated with their “ability to compete with other men, and to discard sexual partners after intercourse". It was also observed that they are less monogamous because they tend to have more frequent and chained relationships.

2. Psychopathy

Psychopathy is detected in the lack of empathy, which leads the subject to base their relationships based on criteria of individual benefit. They have a superfluous emotional response and antisocial behavior. Men with these traits tend to convey a feigned superficial charm and a communicativeness that frequently provides them with settings for one-off relationships.

3. Machiavellianism

By last, Machiavellianism is based on duplicity and the tendency to manipulate social relations in one's favor, of course complex and opportune. It also gives rise to short-term mating situations. They are usually people with great emotional intelligence, however they use it for their own benefit. Certain investigations have revealed that the Machiavellian psychological profile is strongly associated with sexual promiscuity.

Studies conducted up to 2013 linked the dark triad profile to far above average sexual success. Despite this, the authors of the research in question found that previous studies were based on data provided by the participants themselves, which which could have distorted the results, since the dark triad participants could have magnified the amount of sexual intercourse they would have kept. Thus, the authors of the following study questioned the opinion of women, and designed their study to elucidate why they are more attractive to men of the dark triad, if it is really true such trend.

What really attracts women?

In a previous article, we wonder if opposites attract, and the conclusions that Psychology contributes in this regard are certainly interesting.

The study by G. Purse. Campbell and S. Muncer (2013) set out to verify whether the categorization of the dark triad was really a male psychological profile with greater success among women.

The researchers brought together a group of 128 women between the ages of 18 and 36, who were introduced to a man with psychological characteristics of the Dark Triad and another with a normal psychological profile, without the elements of the Dark Triad. When they finished watching the presentations, they were asked which of the two men had been more attractive to them.

The results were the following: men with Dark Triad personality (narcissists, Machiavellians, and psychopaths) scored better than men in the control group.

It seems that the three traits of the dark triad represented, by themselves, aspects of the personality that were attractive, apart from other traits such as extroversion, which also improved the average.

According to the study by G. Purse. Campbell and S. Muncer, combined with the previous ones in this field, it seems clear that the antisocial traits of the dark triad seem to provide social and marital success to this type of subject, thanks to their Machiavellian control over themselves and over social interactions, which allows them to develop interactions where communication skills, good image and the ability to make their partner feel special gives them the tools to attract and seduce. However, in the medium and long term, this success would be highly questionable, since they would be unable to establish relationships in the medium and long term.

The bad boy attractiveness hypotheses

Carter and his colleagues offered two hypotheses about this phenomenon. On one side, considered that sexual selection can play an important role. This would indicate that women detect the signals of these “masculine qualities” that offer good indicators of reproduction. Regarding specific relationships, this would explain the attraction that women feel towards this personality profile; self-assured, reckless, irreverent.

In your second hypothesis, exposed the factor of sexual conflict. Women could respond to the man's ability to show his qualities, thus differentiating themselves from the rest. The men of the Dark Triad are very skilled manipulators and seducers, which would make it easy for them to offer an ideal image of themselves to a potential partner. Another thing is that women also chose this type of man to be their husband, or the father of their children, since, according to the study by D. Asquith (2014), only women with profiles close to the dark triad preferred men of the same personality profile for their long-term marital relationships.

Bibliographic references:

• Asquith, D., Lyons, M., Watson, H., & Jonason, P. (2014). Birds of feather flock together - Evidence for assortative mating for the Dark Triad traits Personality and Individual Differences
• Carter, G., Campbell, A., & Muncer, S. (2014). The Dark Triad personality: Attractiveness to women Personality and Individual Differences
• Carter, G., Campbell, A., & Muncer, S. (2014). The Dark Triad: Beyond a - ‘male’ mating strategy Personality and Individual Differences