Narcissists and psychopaths are more attractive, study says

They say first impressions are crucial, and rightly so. Taking into account that in decision making time is money, the first minutes in which we enter contact with an unknown person will lead us to decide to what extent this is attractive or produces rejection.

We simply cannot afford to examine each person in full depth, attending to all the details and nuances of them, if we do not even know if it is worth spending our time on that.

Are narcissists and psychopaths more attractive?

When what we have to decide is whether or not the person in front of us is a potential partner, however, there is the paradox that we are trying to judge if we can plan a life (or a few years) together from information we collect in a very short time, with the first conversations Maybe This apparent contradiction is what makes it possible for us to find the people with whom we should least count less when creating common projects.

And it is that, although it seems strange, a study published in the European Journal of Personality

has concluded that narcissists and the people with psychopathic traits They have an advantage on speed dating and are perceived as more attractive than the rest.

The seductive power of the Dark Triad

For several years it has been known that there are three personality traits that, despite having a bad press and being frowned upon on paper, are especially attractive. These three personality traits form the so-called Dark triad, or dark triad, and are as follows:

• Narcissism: related to the constant search for attention, the undertaking of actions to try to please others, the firm rejection of criticism and potentially damaging messages for self-esteem, and a tendency to manipulate others people.

• Machiavellianism: related to the constant pursuit of wealth, power and fame, the establishment of long-term personal relationships oriented to manipulating others, and cold and dispassionate thinking focused on how to achieve one's own benefit regardless of the common welfare.

• Psychopathy: tendency to impulsivity, antisocial behaviors, manipulation of others and constant search for strong emotions.

You will have noticed that these traits do not fit too well with anything that has to do with collective projects and the establishment of common goals, which are fundamental pillars of family stability. However, from an evolutionary perspective, it is very possible that people who only care about themselves will be successful. reproductive: they only have to manage to manipulate enough people to generate offspring and make it reach breed.

In this way, these personality traits could be inherited from generation to generation.

In the present study, a team of researchers wanted to see to what extent these three traits of personality could be related to greater success in a series of speed dating conducted under his supervision.

How does the study was realized?

First, the researchers selected 90 people (44 men and 46 women) between the ages of 18 and 32. Once this group of volunteers had been specified, they were given a questionnaire in which their scores were measured both in the Dark Triad traits and in the personality traits of the test. Big five (extraversion, responsibility, kindness, emotional stability and openness to experience), which in other studies have been related to the success in maintaining long-term relationships of partner.

After filling in the questionnaires, the participants went on to perform a series of speed dating with each other. In all, 691 speed dates were performed, each lasting three minutes. After each appointment, the participants filled out a form in which they scored the other person in various aspects, among which were They found her physical attractiveness, the desire they had to start a friendship with her, and the degree to which she would agree to have occasional sex with her.

Results: narcissists are more desired

The scientists found a significant correlation between the score in psychopathy and narcissism and the chances of being chosen or chosen for short relationships, both in men and women, and regardless of their degree of physical attractiveness. In other words, the most narcissistic people with more psychopathic traits were more desired as partners for short-term relationships. However, the correlation was inverse in the case of the Machiavellian trait.

In addition, the results reflected that women who obtained higher scores in physical attractiveness they also tended to score high on narcissism. As expected, the physical attractiveness variable had a strong relationship with the chances of being chosen or chosen as a partner, especially in the case of women.