2008 Woodie Awards
What a girl wants, what a girl needs
Study by university professor finds that women prefer only mildly daring males
Meghan Hayward
Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: News
Do you think women are more attracted to daredevils or wimps? According to research by William Farthing, a psychology professor at the University of Maine, women prefer neither.
Farthing's study found that women prefer men who take mild to moderate, but not extreme, risks. Most women want men who have the ability and bravery to engage in moderately risky acts, but also the thoughtfulness to avoid highly risky daredevil acts.
"It was a combination of my long-term interest in psychology of physical risk taking and my more recent interest in evolutionary psychology that prompted me to do this study," Farthing said.
Farthing questioned why men take physicals risks more than women do, and why it is more likely among young men in their prime reproductive years.
"These facts suggest to an evolutionary psychologist that there might be some link between males' risk taking and their attempts to get a mate," Farthing said.
Farthing asked undergraduate women to read a variety of scenarios involving an opportunity for physical risk taking, and indicate whether they would be more interested in a potential long-term mate or spouse with a man who took the risk, or to one who avoided the risk. Some of the scenarios involved heroic risks, such as rescuing a child from a river, while others were less intense, such as risky sports.
While there are multiple causes of risk-taking and individual differences, Farthing's research was concerned with only one possible influence: women's reactions to men who take physical risks.
"I have concluded that in most cases, the decision is more emotional than rational," Farthing said.
This particular study is a follow-up to an earlier study, published two years ago. In that study, Farthing had all the risk scenarios described as very risky, suggesting a significant risk of serious injury or death.
Farthing said that the first findings led him to test the hypothesis again, using a mix of both very risky and moderately risky scenarios.
Farthing's study found that women prefer men who take mild to moderate, but not extreme, risks. Most women want men who have the ability and bravery to engage in moderately risky acts, but also the thoughtfulness to avoid highly risky daredevil acts.
"It was a combination of my long-term interest in psychology of physical risk taking and my more recent interest in evolutionary psychology that prompted me to do this study," Farthing said.
Farthing questioned why men take physicals risks more than women do, and why it is more likely among young men in their prime reproductive years.
"These facts suggest to an evolutionary psychologist that there might be some link between males' risk taking and their attempts to get a mate," Farthing said.
Farthing asked undergraduate women to read a variety of scenarios involving an opportunity for physical risk taking, and indicate whether they would be more interested in a potential long-term mate or spouse with a man who took the risk, or to one who avoided the risk. Some of the scenarios involved heroic risks, such as rescuing a child from a river, while others were less intense, such as risky sports.
While there are multiple causes of risk-taking and individual differences, Farthing's research was concerned with only one possible influence: women's reactions to men who take physical risks.
"I have concluded that in most cases, the decision is more emotional than rational," Farthing said.
This particular study is a follow-up to an earlier study, published two years ago. In that study, Farthing had all the risk scenarios described as very risky, suggesting a significant risk of serious injury or death.
Farthing said that the first findings led him to test the hypothesis again, using a mix of both very risky and moderately risky scenarios.
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