Conveying lower levels of self-esteem may have a greater impact on the desirability of men as potential relationship partners than it has for women, according to research published in the scientific journal Evolutionary Psychology.
“Individuals with ostensibly higher levels of self-esteem were generally viewed more positively on domains related to romantic desirability than those with lower levels of self-esteem,” Virgil Zeigler-Hill and Erin M. Myers wrote in their study. “However, important exceptions to this pattern emerged such that women with high self-esteem were not always viewed positively.”
The research consisted of six studies of heterosexual college students and found that men perceived to have high self-esteem were evaluated more positively by women than those perceived to have low self-esteem. Surprisingly, men perceived to have moderate self-esteem were not always viewed more positively than those who conveyed a low self-esteem.
“Men with moderate self-esteem were often evaluated less positively than those with high self-esteem and, in some cases, were viewed no more positively than those with low self-esteem,” Zeigler-Hill and Myers said. “These findings suggest that the primary focus for men may be on attaining (or, at the very least, conveying) high self-esteem rather than avoiding low self-esteem.”
In contrast to the conveyed self-esteem of men, women perceived to have moderate self-esteem were evaluated more positively by men than those perceived to have low or high self-esteem. Women who convey a high level of self-esteem may be rated less positively because they are viewed as violating gender norms, the authors of the study explained.
The findings suggest that individuals who are perceived by others as having certain levels of self-esteem may be assumed to possess other characteristics believed to be associated with that particular level of self-esteem.
