Study: Fears of disease make women want alpha males

“Women are able to perceive the environment around them and are able to shift their mate preferences accordingly,” study researcher Anthony Lee, of the University of Queensland, told LiveScience. “It’s not a conscious decision … women have evolved these flexible preferences and they are able to pick up on these cues.”

When faced with the idea of infectious disease, women are more willing to invest in traits related to good genetics in mates, presumably as a way to help ensure healthy offspring. When faced with the idea of scarce resources, she favors good-dad traits, signs a man will stick around and help provide for their family.