University study finds abusive men think women are critical.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

ARLINGTON, Texas _ The advertisement was eye-catching: Married men wanted to participate in a study about how they react to problems in marriage. Pay: $35.

Eighty-six men, ranging in age from 19 to 72, signed up. The results of the study, conducted at the University of Texas at Arlington, offer a peek into the minds of men who abuse women.

"Abusive men are more likely to see women as critical or rejecting," said William Ickes, a psychology professor at UT-Arlington. "They are thin-skinned, hypersensitive and pick up on subtle criticisms."

Applied to real life, the study shows what experts in abusive behavior have long suspected.

The wives were not provoking the men, said Will Schweinle, the UT-Arlington graduate student who designed the study. But he said the men heard criticism in their comments.

"You can't easily blame the victim when you show a general bias like this," he said. "These men have a general bias to see women as more critical in their thoughts and feelings than they are."

Batterers' behavior is driven by their view of women, said Mary Lee Hafley, executive director of the Women's Shelter.