I have no dating experience whatsoever, so I cannot comment on this question from the perspective of someone who has, but it goes without saying that one of the most commonly given pieces of advice you receive (particularly as a guy at least) is that it’s all about confidence. I just had a number of questions regarding this advice.
Now I’m not saying that view is wrong, but I was wondering if it is indeed confidence that is the number one attractive thing for women in a guy, or if this is a halo effect. By this I mean that if somebody already finds you physically attractive then they may jump to the assumption they have other positive qualities such as confidence, and thus be conflating the two with each other. It’s a common cognitive bias to assume physically attractive people are “fundementally good”, even when they can be quite unpleasant people.
Additionally, is it not difficult to make a judgement about someones confidence and personality without getting to know them first? Some people may also lack confidence but they are very good at masquing that, people can be very good at faking it or it’s just not naturally part of their demeanour. You might get to know someone and then find out your assumptions about them were wrong.
I am just interested in getting a discussion going here to help develop a better understanding of how much confidence can influence potential for attracting romantic and physical relationships.