the role of dominance in male attractiveness

The article I read was titled, Dominance, Prosocial Orientation, and Female Preferences: Do Nice Guys Really Finish Last? This article is from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The article discusses the procedure and results of a series of experiments conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between several character traits, including dominance, and a female's attraction to a male. There were three studies that made up the experiment. Each experiment consisted of female participants who evaluated videos displaying scenarios involving men displaying specific personality traits. One of the experiments used physical male attractiveness as a variable; therefore, some of the men in the tape were made to look attractive while others were made to look unattractive. The male personality traits taken into consideration were: dominance, agreeableness, and prosocial tendencies. 

The separate experiments did not all yield the same results; however, there was clear evidence throughout all the studies that "attraction was an interactive function of [male] dominance and agreeableness." This consistent finding in the study is definitely one which is relative to relationship dynamics between a man and woman. Women do not want to have to deal with an egotistical man who thinks he was "one hell of a catch" for her. Dominance is only attractive when it is presented in a kindly manner always in favor of the woman. A preferred example of male dominance would be a man who is protective of his spouse and makes his feeling known that she is the best of the best. 

The article doesn't describe the content of the videos in detail. I, as a reader, did not get a good idea of what the female experimenters judged when they watched the tapes of the men for the study. How exactly did the male participants display their designated characteristic, such as dominant or agreeable? 

There was no evidence in the results of Study 1 that dominance makes a male more attractive to females. Among my own friends, I know that dominance is a significant factor in general male appeal, especially sexual appeal. This inconsistency between the results of the study and my observations of personal, real-life situations makes me question the credibility of the study. 

Scholarly articles use a range of observation, statistics, and analysis to compound data and reach intellectual conclusions about questions regarding a variety of subject matters. Those conclusions help us come to a better understanding about the way in which we function as humans in our vast, ever-changing society.