Men Prefer Nice and Responsive Women: Sparking Sexual Desire

What do men prefer in a woman? They prefer her to be responsive, according to a new study. Scientists have taken a closer look at responsiveness of both men and women on a first date in order to determine what factors might influence a person's decision on whether or not another is attractive.

The researchers observed people's perceptions of responsiveness over the course of three studies. In the first study, the scientists looked at whether responsiveness was perceived as masculine or feminine, and whether men or women perceived a responsive person of the opposite sex as sexually desirable. In the end, the researchers found that men who perceived females are more responsive also perceived them as more feminine and more attractive. Yet the association between responsiveness and male partner's masculinity was not significant for women.

In the second study, the researchers asked participants to interact with a responsive or non-responsive individual of the opposite sex online and view that individual's photo. The scientists found that men who interacted with a responsive female perceived her as more feminine-just like in the first study. In the third study, the researchers also found a similar result.

The findings reveal that a responsive partner is seen as sexually desirable-at least for men. In contrast, it didn't seem to have an effect for women. Currently, the scientists want to explore the phenomenon more in depth in order to find out why this is.

"We still do not know why women are less sexually attracted to responsive strangers; it may not necessarily have to do with 'being nice,' said Gurit Birnbaum, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Women may perceive this person as inappropriately nice and manipulative or eager to please, perhaps even as desperate, and therefore less sexually appealing. Alternatively, women may perceive a responsive man as vulnerable and less dominant. Regardless of the reasons, perhaps men should slow down if their goal is to instill sexual desire."

The findings are published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.