It is what he has been taught through observation. All too often, some men have been conditioned by society and, in many cases, by parents who lived in a their own silent, unexpressive world, that this is how relationships are. He has the misconception that this is how a man should behave to a woman. He believes to dominate is his proper role. On the other hand, it can be just another form of arrogance.
Arrogance is a form of self-imposed blindness, a form of vanity, one seeing only oneself.
A form of speech limitation or dumbness where one imposes silence and inarticulation on oneself. The observers witnessed women using silence too, but more as a response to bad behavior. Women's glacial reaction to their men's ineptitude and boorish behavior is nearly a cliche'. But the women did not use silence as a weapon to hurt or even to ignore. The man has done something boorish or inconsiderate, and the woman is going to remain silent until he admits to it or, more likely, attempts to right the wrong by better behavior.