Relational dominance and mate-selection criteria: Evidence that males attend to female dominance

The present study argues that pressures associated with the threat of paternal uncertainty shaped a male mate-preference for relatively subordinate partners in the context of long- (high investment) but not short-term (low investment) relationships. Using a hypothetical scenario depicting a workplace setting, 120 male and 208 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions in which they were asked to judge a male or female target, described as either their supervisor (higher dominance), coworker (equal dominance), or their assistant (lower dominance). Participants exposed to an opposite-sex target rated their attraction to the target for varying types of investment (e.g., desire for a one-night stand, desire to affiliate, or desire for a long-term relationship), and participants exposed to a same-sex target rated their desire to affiliate with the target. Results supported predictions and indicated that males preferred the subordinate over the dominant target for affiliation and high-investment items, and females were unaffected by the target's dominance status. The results of same-sex ratings indicated that dominance status did not influence females' ratings of the female target, and that dominance did not influence males' ratings of the male target. These results are discussed in terms of the role of relational dominance in shaping male mate-preferences.