It's hard to put it into words because a lot of it is instinctual, gut-level reactions that can be interpreted the wrong way.
I've noticed in rare moments where I've had the "What do you like most about me?" conversation the guy sort of cringed. This is usually when the bell goes off in the guys head, "Oh....maybe we should stick to casual." If you think back to those moments and remember what the specific attraction killer was, you get a sense of how women operate.
I think every girl has experienced that which is partly why a lot of girls are vague, or flake, or give answers that are noncommittal when it comes to the dating stage. A lot of women want commitment and realize the full disclosure stuff lowers their chances of commitment and puts them on the "good time girl" track.
It takes vulnerability to disclose the cringe-worthy stuff because if you're sharing something that doesn't give an awkward scent in the room, you're not being vulnerable because nothing is at stake.
People work on incentives and when vulnerability is rewarded with a judgmental attitude, less mature people will use that as an excuse to mask their intentions. That's why I said there's a divide-men don't often realize when women are being their most vulnerable (no, I don't mean during sex, I mean emotionally vulnerable) so they are unnerved by the decreasing level of intimacy that gradually happens in their relationship and wonder what made their woman turn "cold".
Women can be seen as pretty capricious and mercurial because we often oscillate through three different m.o.s when dating. It's like each point of the triangle of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
One one point, you have status. This is often relative to her place in society. Men don't see this as an attraction booster because for them status is a result of achievement. In their mind, work hard +produce something of value=status and respect among your peers. It's formulaic, basic, and "weird" why women want it so much. The typical woman values status because its a reflection of the primal urge to belong and be part of the tribe where its safe and secure from predators and threats.
On another point, you have security. Women who may have money but lack secure cash flow, assets, or credentials resort to making drastic lifestyle changes (not necessarily adult entertainment) and often prioritize that in a mate. Most men would think, "Ok, there's a problem, what can I do now to fix this?" Most women do go through the problem solving motions and think of how to fix things. However, this often happens after an emotionally overwhelming internally queasy experience . The emotional intensity often clouds judgment and makes women less likely to want to engage in activities that give that queasy unstable feeling. During this stage, a woman is more likely to avoid guys with financial issues for romantic reasons (yes, poor women screw broke guys but usually because they feel STABLE with him to some extent). Men have their own overwhelming emotions that are instinctual, people develop coping mechanisms to manage them. Many women opt for avoidance of situations that trigger such feelings. (This sounds really cold to guys who may have had women reject them for lack of "stability" or similar reasons)
The last point on the pyramid is stimulation. In less emotionally developed women, this manifests itself in drama-seeking attention getting behavior. In more mature women, this manifests itself as hobbies, zest for life and social interactions. On any given day, women are expected to be emotionally supportive, just as men are often expected to be financially supportive. To cope with such social pressures, women find outlets through their relationships so that they can "re-charge" and get enough energy to navigate their social web of friends and family. This is sort of like how a hard working breadwinner usually goes hope and wants to read the paper, watch tv or sit with his thoughts to process things. Emotionally stimulating stuff (yes, some of it is trivial and immature like shopping, decorating, and reality TV) helps women process their social responsibilities and pressures to be supportive and accommodating. Just as many men think, "Oh, independent woman? Why do you need an award, men have taken high risk jobs for centuries AND provide for entire families!" Many women think, "So you showed up at the Saturday potluck and you want an award when you weren't mingling with anyone at the party?!?! You made me look bad and I had to explain to everyone why you were so surly!"
I'm a typical girl, I have these instincts but had to learn to tame them. They can be channeled in positive ways (admiration for your partner's achievements, prudence and conservative decision as a couple, a desire to build a strong community for the kids and family) or negative ways (dishonest golddigging, bait and switch whoring, and emotional blackmail respectively).