Attraction to Men and Women Varying in Self-Esteem

Abstract

Among 23 male and 29 female undergraduates, the men and women who were high and low in self-esteem rank-ordered their liking for men varying in self-esteem and for women varying in self-esteem. Although a person of equal self-esteem was liked more than a person of higher self-esteem, this preference was much stronger when the targets were women than when they were men. It was suggested that superiority may be a more powerful determinant of liking for men than liking for women.